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REMARKS BY:  DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:	     National Partnership Awards, Washington, D.C.
DATE:	     September 9, 1998

This week, the nation's eyes have been fixated on a new star in baseball's constellation -- the home-run hero, Mark McGwire. All year long, he's been knocking on the door to Roger Maris's record. All year long, opposing pitchers tried to knock him out. And all year long, armchair coaches were offering their advice. Some said: "Pitch inside. He's too muscular to handle it." Others said, "Whatever you do, don't pitch inside. He devours inside pitches." Some said, "Throw fastballs. He's too big to react fast enough." Others said, "Don't throw fastballs. He's got the quickest swing in the league." And some said, "Pitch him plenty of sinkers. He has trouble getting under those low pitches." While others said, "For goodness sake, don't pitch him a sinker. He loves getting under those low pitches." Meanwhile, Big Mac just kept belting those pitches out of the park and into the history books.

The story of our National Partnership Award winners is similar. You've kept your eye on the ball. You stepped up to the plate -- time and time again -- with talent, tenacity and real teamwork. And you defied the armchair coaches and their conventional wisdom. They claimed that labor and management could never work together as true cooperative partners. They were wrong. You do. Every day. They said federal employees would never pull together to reinvent and transform government. They were wrong. You did. Today government works better and costs less. And they said we could never make federal civil service one of the most honorable, rewarding professions in the world. And they were very, very wrong. It is. And you are among the best of this honorable profession.

The award winners today are an all-star team. But this government has a very deep bench. We have the strongest team in history, from top to bottom. This is not award ceremony rhetoric. As a member of the President's original cabinet in 1993, and the longest-serving HHS Secretary, I know what I'm talking about. Year after year, I am reminded of why I came back to government. During the last five years, we've seen each other through some tough times: The government shutdown and furlough of federal employees; the terror and aftermath of Oklahoma City; the re-organizations and re- inventions of all of government; and the terrorist bombings of our embassies in Africa, and the heightened security all of us need as a result.

Time and time again, with your new spirit of partnership, I have seen federal employees and managers forge through the adversity, and come out on top. Time and again, I have seen you accept the challenge to do more, to give more, to produce more -- and do it with less resources. You have never let the people down. You've met their highest standards. After five years in this administration, I can honestly say that I've seen the best public servants of my generation and the next. You prove how much government can do when we are allowed to do it right. What former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter said years ago about government is still true today. He said, "It's a pretty complex thing and it requires the dedication, devotion and idealism of our most gifted men and women."

Our country is fortunate to have the dedication, devotion and idealism of so many gifted public servants. When people ask you what do you do for a living, you look them in the eye and simply say: I serve my country. I help people make the most of their lives. I work hard to make every tax dollar work harder. And I helped to balance the federal budget, and put this nation on the road of peace and prosperity.

More than ever before, we have great cause for celebration. More than ever before, you have great cause to be proud of what you do. Your professionalism, your courage and your caring have inspired your colleagues and bettered our nation.

In closing, let me point out that it's fitting to name the National Partnership Awards for a great hero of labor and its new relations with management, the late John N. Sturdivant. I remember the day we signed the HHS labor-management partnership agreement in my conference room, in October 1994. I also remember serving John a cup of coffee as a gesture of our new working dynamic. And none of us will ever forget John's advice: That partnership is about more than better labor-management relations. It's about better government and better service to the American people. Our award winners today honor the man and his legacy.

It's fitting that we are presenting the John Sturdivant awards in an auditorium named for the late Dr. Alan K. Campbell. He was "Scotty" to all who knew him. He was the best teacher I ever had. He was a brilliant scholar and public administrator, a superb corporate executive, and a pragmatic, shrewd and highly successful politician. Most of all, he was everything you'd expect from the first director of OPM. He was devoted to public service. He was devoted to those who served the public. And he was dedicated to building a foundation of public service that would last for generations.

When he died in January of this year, Janice described Scotty's devotion pretty well. She said, "His contributions to our nation will live on. He was the kind of public servant we should all strive to be." Your contributions will live on. You are the kind of public servant our nation needs. And Scotty Campbell would have been proud of you today. Proud of your work. Proud of your partnership. Proud of your success. On behalf of the President and the American people we serve, thank you and congratulations.