[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 149 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 39673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19166]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 4, 1994]




                        Presidential Documents 


Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 149
Thursday, August 4, 1994

____________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President
                Proclamation 6710 of July 29, 1994

 

National Scleroderma Awareness Month, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Literally meaning ``hard skin,'' scleroderma is a 
                chronic disease that thickens and attaches the skin to 
                underlying structures. Its cause is unknown.

                Scleroderma strikes individuals of every age, sex, and 
                ethnic background, although women between the ages of 
                25 and 55 are four times more likely to be afflicted. 
                It is a painful and sometimes progressive disorder of 
                the connective tissue that can cause disability, 
                disfigurement, and even death. Its impact, in terms of 
                both physical and emotional suffering, is enormous.

                In patients with scleroderma, there is an excess 
                production of collagen, the main fibrous component of 
                connective tissue. As a result, the formation of dense, 
                compact tissue causes the skin to lose its elasticity. 
                Scleroderma is also a disease of the vascular and 
                immune systems and can impair internal organs, such as 
                the kidneys, lungs, heart, and gastrointestinal tract.

                New biomedical research findings and innovative 
                approaches to diagnosis and treatment are essential in 
                fighting against this multifaceted disorder. The 
                Federal Government and private voluntary organizations 
                are working together to increase both public awareness 
                of and research on scleroderma. Their objective is to 
                discover the cause of this devastating disease and to 
                develop effective ways to prevent, treat, and cure it.

                I applaud all those who are working to bring public 
                attention to this disabling illness, those who are 
                aiding its victims, and those who are researching its 
                complex nature.

                The Congress, by Public Law 103-92, has designated the 
                month of August 1994 as ``National Scleroderma 
                Awareness Month'' and has authorized and requested the 
                President to issue a proclamation in observance of this 
                month.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month 
                of August 1994 as National Scleroderma Awareness Month. 
                I urge all Government agencies and the people of the 
                United States, as well as educational, philanthropic, 
                scientific, medical, and health care organizations and 
                professionals, to participate in appropriate activities 
                to encourage greater awareness of scleroderma and 
                further research into its cause and cure.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and nineteenth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>

[FR Doc. 94-19166
Filed 8-2-94; 2:14 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P