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REMARKS BY : DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY  OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE: COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY, GEORGETOWN PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
DATE: MAY 22, 1998

Faculty, parents, families and friends. I want to join you in thanking Colin Campbell -- for his leadership. He has had a distinguished career -- and I have admired him greatly over the years.

Family and friends of the graduates may have been a little unclear about what you've been studying here. But behind the health and success of our nation today, there are public policy graduates just like you. My own chief of staff, Mary Beth Donahue -- a talented young public policy leader. And Molly Sonner, one of the most promising young scholars of public policy.

I know many of your faculty. Professor Judy Feder -- who teaches health policy -- is one of the most gifted policy analysts I've ever worked with. And Dr. John Eisenberg -- a former adjunct faculty member who now leads the government's principle agency for health quality and services research.

I want to thank the students of this Institute, for the privilege of addressing your Tropaia. You've chosen a profession whose chief currency is words -- lots of words. I'll try to keep mine brief. Because I know, the only thing standing between you and the real world ... is me and my speech.

But as you step across the threshold today, there is good news, and bad news, waiting for you out there. The good news and the bad news are both the same. Henceforth and forever, you shall be known throughout the land as a member of that unique species known as publicus consilium wonkus. The policy wonk. I'll give you a second to let that fully sink in.

Yes, your success at GPPI confers upon you all the rights and privileges of the policy wonk. And perhaps, all the attributes as well. The warning signs are obvious. Let me just mention a few:

You know you're a serious policy wonk if you've never heard of Seinfeld. Or you thought he was that guy at Brookings who does national industrial base policy. You know you're a wonk if you think Congressional Quarterly is a little too "tabloid." Or if you wish that Wilson Quarterly came out once a week. Of if your car has a bumper sticker that says, "Honk if You're a Wonk."

If you're still not sure whether you truly deserve the title of policy wonk, imagine you're doing a word association exercise with your therapist. She says the word "fun." And you say, "task force." She says, "excitement." And you say, "roundtable discussion." She says, "get a life." And you say, "policy conference!"

How do I know so much about policy wonks? Because I'm one of you. I've spent most of my career training wonks or leading them. Out of that experience has come pretty straightforward insights -- that I'd like to pass onto you.

First: No one - whether in government or the private sector - gets it right all the time. Our best computer programmers wrote billions of lines of code in the 60s and 70s, apparently thinking the world would stop at midnight, 1999. Last summer there were predictions that the movie Titanic would sink at the box office. And just last month, astronomers made headlines around the world by announcing that an asteroid headed toward earth would barely miss us. The next day they had an update: The near-miss turned out to be 600,000 miles.

I'm not an astronomer, but I understand that determining the course of an asteroid is not as simple as drawing a line from A to B. But it is at least a puzzle with a straightforward solution. Were it only so with people. Think about the real Titanic. Engineers knew exactly how the ship would break up, and how long it would take to sink. But no one could predict how the passengers would react: Who would panic? Who would show courage? When would the will to love be stronger than the will to live?

We're gripped by these questions because they measure who we are - and our will to overcome. I've spent most of my adult life on the borderline between making public policy and being a student of public policy. After many years of doing both -- I can tell you solutions rarely rise to the surface with mathematical precision. Yet time and again, I've seen leaders from both political parties rise to the occasion, put nation above party, and better the lives of millions of Americans. Which leads to the second simple truth I've learned about public policy.

You can't make good policy in a vacuum. You also need politics. The words "politics" and "policy" both come from the same Latin root, having to do with citizens. Both serve the public in their own ways. And politics not only puts policy into action -- politics also tests the strength of policy. Politics without policy is a game without a goal. But policy without politics is a goal without impact.

That's why I truly believe in working closely and cooperatively with Congress. And I truly believe in working with both Democrats and Republicans. And I've always tried to maintain professional relationships with more conservative newspapers like The Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal. In fact, I have two rules of thumb: One, be fiercely loyal to the President on policy and appointments. Two, be skillfully bipartisan in the administration of the Department. When we go to Capitol Hill to testify, we present the Administration's case as vigorously as possible. When we return to the Department, we treat requests from Democratic and Republican governors with exactly the same professional consideration.

And if we've learned anything new about government in the past few years, it's that periodically, with a gifted President, bipartisanship can serve our country. This President has pursued a new vision for America -- a nation living within its means without sacrificing it principles - or its soul. He has led us to a period of almost unparalleled accomplishment in Washington. A healthy, prosperous economy. A balanced federal budget for the first time in 30 years. The first time in most of your lifetimes.

We also proved we could help working families succeed, even in a balanced-budget world. We passed major welfare reform legislation. And the number of welfare recipients has fallen below 10 million for the first time in more than 25 years. We've made work a better deal than welfare by expanding tax credits for workers; raising the minimum wage; and offering health insurance to millions of uninsured children. At the same time, we strengthened both the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. And we are on the verge of historic legislation to protect our children from tobacco.

All of this happened in defiance of conventional wisdom - and with the smallest government since John Kennedy was president. And all of this happened because our policies passed the test of the political process, and strengthened by it. And so these policies will serve people better. Which leads to the third important lesson I've learned in public policy:

Never lose sight of the people you are trying to serve.It's an easy mistake to make. American corporations learned that the hard way. Today, a common mantra in the corporate world is "focus on the customer." It seems rather obvious. But over the years, many corporations had become bureaucratic. They began to fixate on their internal processes. The consumer became some kind of vague entity out there. So the consumers went overseas. The corporate restructuring was painful for everyone. But it worked. Now the consumer is king. And now the nation's economy is healthier and stronger.

Public policy makers can't avoid this hard lesson -- that if you're not grounded in the real needs of real people, you lose the people. It's important to remember -- when you try to make policy, take a reality check. We must always ask ourselves, is this policy really going to help people? The way they need to be helped? The way they want to be helped?

It is my experience in this town that bright -- brilliant -- people are a dime a dozen. Finding wise, caring people is much harder. We must always ask, does this policy pass the test of common sense? Does it truly advance the common cause? Is it worth it?

I'm sure you've learned these lessons here. The challenge is to apply these lessons throughout your careers. Because when you're sitting in a policy shop, up to your neck in numbers, it's easy to lose sight of people.

But let me say this: It's a great time to be a policy wonk in America. The Millennium sets an important milestone for our nation -- it motivates, goads and incites us to greatness. We are closing this century of trial and triumph on a high note. We have high hopes for starting off the next century. We have high expectations for improving our nation and the lives of all our people. This poses high expectations for public policy makers, because that's what success does -- it raises the bar.

And so, we have high expectations for you. We need you more than ever -- as your motto says -- "to heal societies' ills with good hearts, trained minds and open eyes."

Whenever I think about this Institute and the quality of people it produces, I get a mild case of cognitive dissonance. Because the common image of the policy wonk just doesn't fit. Policy wonks are supposed to be androids in thick-soled shoes. Cool. Cerebral. Introverted. Obsessed with facts, stats and footnotes. J. Alfred Prufrock with his trousers rolled, holding an uneaten peach.

But when I think about GPPI alumni, I see a far different person. People I have worked with over the years, with rigorous minds and caring hearts. People who believe that public policy ought to serve the public good.

If you don't know this already, let me give you a final warning: For the policy wonk with a heart, getting your Master's Degree was a piece of cake compared to what's ahead. So let me close and send you off with a favorite thought of mine from Maya Angelou, the poet. She said -- and I agree -- that "there is something gracious and graceful about serving." You have the brains and heart to serve. Now go forward and serve with courage and integrity. The grace you confer upon others confers grace upon yourself. Thank you.