For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 28, 2001
Remarks by the President at White House Memorial Day Breakfast
The East Room
8:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank
you. Well, Tony, thank you very much. I
appreciate so very much the fine work you are doing on behalf of the
veterans for America. I knew that I made a pretty good
selection when I picked Tony. I didn't realize that so many
would agree with me so quickly, and I thank you very much for taking on
such a tough assignment.
I am also honored that the Secretary of
Defense is here. Mr. Secretary, thank you, and thanks for
bringing your great wife as well. I'm pleased to know that
Mel Martinez and his wife are here, another Cabinet secretary, as well
as Ann Veneman and Tommy Thompson, head of Health and Human
Services. Thank you all for being here
today. Jenny, thank you for your kind prayer.
Senator Dole, it's great to see you,
sir. I'm really pleased you brought your better
half. (Laughter.) Elizabeth is one of our
all-time favorites. I know you've worked hard for this
moment and I want to thank you for being here. I see Freddie
Smith as well, who you did a fine job of twisting his arm to take over
the head of the World War II Memorial Fund. And thanks, Fred, so much
for your hard work.
I'm glad members of the Congress who are here
-- I thought most of you were trying to escape town, but some of you
stayed behind to help celebrate this occasion. Senator
Hutchinson from the great state of Arkansas is here and thank you very
much, Tim, for being here. Senator Bob Smith, thank you,
sir, for coming. Senator Ted Stevens, I appreciate so very
much, you being here. And, of course, the Chairman, John
Warner, thanks for coming. Members of the House, Cass Ballenger and
Ralph Regula, Ike Skelton and Chris Smith are here as
well. Thank you all for coming.
I've got to say something about an
ex-congressman. I just saw Sonny Montgomery sitting here
and, Sonny, you may not be in the House but a lot of people wish you
still were, and thanks so much for being here.
I want to thank the members of the Joint
Chiefs who are here. I also want to thank all the World War
II vets who are here. And if you wouldn't mind standing, I
wish you would, please.
(Applause.)
William Smit (phonetic), an ex-POW, and Joseph
Alexander, a defender of Bataan and Corregidor are here. You
just stood, but I want to thank you two gentlemen for coming as well.
I want to welcome everybody to the White
House. Laura and I are so honored you are here this
morning. Later today, I will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the
Unknowns, one of the many acts of remembrance that will mark this
day. Many of you will be there and thank you for coming, not
only here but there as well.
Each of you is not only a veteran in this
room, but each of you is a servant to other veterans, and for that our
nation is grateful. America's veterans have earned not only
honors but specific benefits, and those only become more necessary with
the years.
My administration will do all it can to assist
our veterans and to correct oversights of the past. My
budget provides a significant increase for health care at the
Department of Veterans Affairs, where Senator Principi is very much in
charge. We are making considerable progress on implementing
the Veterans Millennium Health Care Act. And the Secretary
-- did I say Senator Principi? (Laughter.) Always
worried about that balance of power. (Laughter and
applause.)
Secretary Principi has begun a top-to-bottom
review of VA claims processing in order to identify weaknesses and
areas of improvement.
These are good first steps, but they are only
first steps. We must also improve the way the VA and the
Department of Defense work together to provide care to those who have
served in uniform. I am today announcing the creation of a
presidential task force to recommend major reforms in the delivery of
health care to veterans and military retirees. (Applause.)
I have asked two distinguished Americans to
lead it. Dr. Gail Wilensky is a prominent expert on health
policy and a faithful friend to veterans. She will work with
Gerry Solomon, who is a long-time advocate for veterans and a former
congressman. One might be tempted to call him an ex-Marine,
but we all know there is no such thing as an ex-Marine. (Laughter and
applause.) I'm honored that both have agreed
to serve. I am honored they are both here. Please
stand. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
America really has been given so
much. Yet, of all our assets, resources and strengths, none
have counted more than the courage of our young soldiers in the face of
battle. They have cleared the seas, crossed the rivers,
charged the hills and covered the skies and they have never let America
down.
I know that those who have seen war are rarely
eager to look back on it, and the hardest memories of all concern those
who serve their country and never live to be called
veterans. Yet memory is our responsibility. We are in their
debt more than a lifetime of Memorial Days could repay. Their
sacrifices left us with a duty that goes on through the generations, to
honor them in our thoughts and our words and in our lives.
We have been given that opportunity this
morning. On your way to Arlington National Cemetery, you
will pass the Mall where our nation raised up memorials to Washington,
Lincoln and those lost in Vietnam. That same Mall will soon
be the site of the World War II Memorial.
The generation of World War II defeated
history's greatest tyranny, leaving graves and freedom from Europe to
Asia. Our nation must always remember their heroism and
humility and terrible suffering. And that memory must be and
will be preserved on the Washington Mall. (Applause.)
The World War II Memorial has been in the
works for a long time. The Congress of the United States has
acted to remove the obstacles and begin the project. What is
required now is a signature, and I am glad to give it. In
the sixtieth year after Pearl Harbor -- (applause.)
In the sixtieth year after Pearl Harbor, it is
my huge honor to set my name on this bill, ordering construction of a
monument that will stand for the ages. Not only will I sign
the bill, I will make sure the monument gets built. Thank
you all for coming. (Applause.)
END
8:48
A.M. EDT
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