[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
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 198 / Thursday, October 10, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 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