THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you. Well, what an extraordinary day. It is good to be here with all of you.

I want to, first of all, thank President Bill Clinton for joining us here today -- where’s President Clinton? -- (applause) -- for his lifetime of service to our country, but also the fact that he created AmeriCorps, and that not only made this day possible, it has directly enlisted more than half a million Americans in service to their country; service that has touched the lives of millions more.

Now, it just so happens that one of those people who have been touched by AmeriCorps was FLOTUS, otherwise known as First Lady of the United States -- (laughter) -- Michelle Obama, who ran a AmeriCorps-sponsored program, Public Allies, in Chicago. (Applause.)

I also want to thank former First Lady Rosalynn Carter for being here -- (applause) -- for her advocacy on behalf of those with mental illness, and for her husband’s continued good works that inspire us all. I am thrilled to have Caroline Kennedy here -- (applause) -- for carrying on her family’s long legacy of service.

To my congressional colleagues who did such a fantastic job on a bipartisan basis ushering this through, starting with the two leaders of the House and the Senate, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, I’m grateful to them, and obviously to Barbara Mikulski and Orrin Hatch, George Miller, the entire delegation who helped to shepherd this through -- please give them a huge round of applause. (Applause.)

To my outstanding Vice President, Joe Biden. (Applause.) To Dr. Jill Biden. (Applause.) A couple of outstanding public servants in their own right, please, a warm welcome for General Colin Powell and his wonderful wife, Alma. (Applause.) For the outstanding Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. (Applause.) And I’ve got to give some special props to my fellow Illinoisan, a great friend, Dick Durbin. (Applause.)

Finally -- and I know that I’ve got some prepared remarks -- but I just want to go ahead and say it now. There are very few people who have touched the life of this nation in the same breadth and the same order of magnitude than the person who is seated right behind me. And so this is just an extraordinary day for him. And I am truly grateful and honored to call him a friend, a colleague, and one of the finest leaders we’ve ever had -- Ted Kennedy. (Applause.)

All right. I want to thank the students and the faculty of the SEED School -- (applause) -- our hosts for today -- and their headmaster, Charles Adams. Where’s Mr. Adams? Is he here? (Applause.) A shining example of how AmeriCorps alums go on to do great things. This school is a true success story -- a place where for four of the last five years, every graduate from the SEED School was admitted to college -- every graduate. (Applause.)

It’s a place where service is a core component of the curriculum. And just as the SEED School teaches reading and writing, arithmetic and athletics, it also prepares our young Americans to grow into active and engaged citizens. And what these students come to discover through service is that by befriending a senior citizen, or helping the homeless, or easing the suffering of others, they can find a sense of purpose and renew their commitment to this country that we love.

And that is the spirit in which we gather today, as I sign into law a bill that represents the boldest expansion of opportunities to serve our communities and our country since the creation of AmeriCorps -- (applause) -- a piece of legislation named for a man who has not only touched countless lives, but who still sails against the wind, a man who’s never stopped asking what he can do for his country, and that’s Senator Edward M. Kennedy. (Applause.)

In my address to a joint session of Congress in February, I asked for swift passage of this legislation, and these folks on the stage came through. So, again, I want to thank wide bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate who came together to pass this bill -- especially Barbara Mikulski, Mike Enzi, Chris Dodd, John McCain, who’s not here, Thad Cochran, as well as, on the House side, Representatives Miller and Carolyn McCarthy, Buck McKeon and Howard Berman.

More than anyone else, the new era of service we enter in today has been made possible by the unlikely friendship between these two men, Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy. They may be the odd couple of the Senate. (Laughter.) One is a conservative Republican from Utah; the other is, well, Ted Kennedy. (Laughter.) But time and again, they placed partnership over partisanship to advance this nation even in times when we were told that wasn’t possible. (Applause.)

Senator Hatch was shaped by his experience as a young missionary serving others, a period he has called the greatest of his life. And last year he approached Senator Kennedy to share his ideas about service. Out of that conversation came this legislation. And last month, at Senator Hatch’s selfless request, the Senate unanimously chose to name this bill after his dear friend, Ted. (Applause.) That’s the kind of class act that Orrin Hatch is.

Now, Ted’s story and the story of his family is known to all. It’s a story of service. And it’s also the story of America -- of hard work and sacrifice of generation after generation, some called upon to give more than others, but each committed to the idea that we can make tomorrow better than today. I wouldn’t be standing here today if not for the service of others, or for the purpose that service gave my own life.