[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 198 (Thursday, October 10, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53301-53302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26315]
[[Page 53299]]
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Part V
The President
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Proclamation 6933--Child Health Day, 1996
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 198 / Thursday, October 10, 1996 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 53301]]
Proclamation 6933 of October 7, 1996
Child Health Day, 1996
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The health of our children is part of our heritage as a
Nation, passed from one generation to the next. It is
also our hope for the future. Our children embody our
dreams and are the vessel through which we seek an ever
deeper understanding of the full reach of human
promise. Their physical, mental, and social well-being
is the fulfillment of that potential.
For previous generations, diseases were a deadly shadow
hovering over every new birth. Thanks in large part to
medical advances and improved public health practices,
most of today's children are no longer threatened by
these afflictions. Childhood immunizations alone have
saved countless American lives in the past decade, and
today we are increasing our efforts to identify and
immunize children who need this protection.
Since we now have the knowledge and resources to
protect our children from many childhood diseases--
including diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis,
measles, mumps, and rubella--we have the obligation to
reach out to our population and do so. Immunization is
a cost-effective, commonsense means of fighting
disease, and States wisely require immunizations for
schoolchildren and for children attending child care
centers. I signed the Comprehensive Childhood
Immunization Initiative so that children will receive
the vaccinations they need. This initiative makes
vaccines affordable for families and improves
immunization outreach, with the goal that 90 percent of
all two-year-olds should be fully vaccinated by the
year 2000.
However, even if we achieve complete immunization of
all American children, our youth today face another
potential threat every bit as dangerous as disease--the
devastation of violence. Children are becoming more
frequent victims, and violence among children is
increasing as they emulate the violence in their
environment. Each year the tragic effects can be seen
in the lives of millions of children. It can be
observed among those who are neglected or abused, of
whom more than 1,000 die each year. It can be found
especially in the lives of those who witness violence
against a parent--and who themselves face a significant
chance of becoming victims of that same brutality.
As a Nation, we must continue our commitment to
eliminating violence and to strengthening children and
families. To that end, we have launched initiatives to
encourage the use of school uniforms, the adoption of
curfews, and the intensification of anti-truancy
programs. And we have also expanded the drug-free
school program to include anti-crime efforts as well,
enhancing the overall safety of our schools.
America's future rests with healthy children and strong
families. All across this land--within our homes and
health care settings; our churches and communities; our
schools and child care centers; our legislatures and
halls of justice; our factories, shops, and offices--we
are all charged with the responsibility to safeguard
our legacy by protecting and nurturing the bodies,
minds, and spirits of our children.
To emphasize the significance of fostering children's
healthy development, the Congress, by joint resolution
approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36
[[Page 53302]]
U.S.C. 143), has called for the designation of the
first Monday in October as ``Child Health Day'' and has
requested the President to issue a proclamation in
observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday,
October 7, 1996, as Child Health Day. On that day and
every day throughout the year, I urge all Americans to
renew and deepen their commitment to protecting our
most precious natural resource--our children.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 96-26315
Filed 10-9-96; 11:00 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
