[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 6, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 25151-25152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12219]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 / Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 25151]]


                Proclamation 7092 of May 4, 1998

                
Older Americans Month, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In just over a decade from now, the first of America's 
                77 million baby boomers will celebrate their 65th 
                birthdays. Fortunately, visionary programs like Social 
                Security, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act will 
                help to make life easier for them as they reach this 
                milestone.

                For more than 60 years, Social Security has provided 
                our older citizens with a measure of economic security. 
                For more than 30 years, Medicare has given them access 
                to quality health care and the latest in medical 
                advances. And older Americans in need of greater 
                assistance have been able to look to programs under the 
                Older Americans Act for the critical home and 
                community-based care services that have enabled 
                millions of elderly men and women to live 
                independently. Together, these farsighted measures have 
                played a major role in dramatically reducing the 
                poverty rate and extending the longevity of older 
                Americans, allowing our citizens to grow old with 
                dignity and peace of mind.

                This year's Older Americans Month celebration centers 
                around the theme ``Living Longer; Growing Stronger in 
                America.'' As we enter a new century and address the 
                challenges of an aging America, we must commit 
                ourselves to the health and welfare of our older 
                Americans and to protecting and strengthening Medicare 
                and Social Security. One of the most important 
                achievements of the Balanced Budget Act that I signed 
                last summer was its unprecedented reform of the 
                Medicare program. This bipartisan effort extends the 
                life of the Medicare Trust Fund for a decade, includes 
                new health plan choices, and adds coverage of 
                preventive benefits. The legislation also established 
                the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of 
                Medicare to, among other things, review and analyze the 
                financial condition of Medicare so that it remains as 
                strong for our children as it has been for our parents.

                We must respond with equal resolve to the increasing 
                strains on the Social Security system. Now that we have 
                succeeded in dramatically reducing the Federal budget 
                deficit, I have called on the Congress to reserve all 
                of the anticipated budget surplus until we have a 
                comprehensive plan to strengthen Social Security for 
                the 21st century. We are holding a series of regional 
                conferences throughout the year to engage in a national 
                discussion on the future of Social Security, both to 
                raise awareness of the problem and to allow all 
                Americans to contribute their ideas for a solution. At 
                the end of the year, I will host a bipartisan White 
                House Conference on Social Security to summarize the 
                lessons we learn from this dialogue and to map out an 
                effective strategy that will enable us to ensure that 
                Social Security will be there for future generations of 
                Americans.

                During Older Americans Month--and throughout the year--
                I encourage all Americans to pay tribute to our older 
                citizens and to follow their example by planning for 
                the future. As individuals, we should take care of our 
                health through proper diet, exercise, and appropriate 
                preventive care, and we should plan for our future 
                financial security by participating in retirement and 
                savings programs. As families and communities, we can 
                help older Americans to remain active and independent 
                members of our communities.

[[Page 25152]]

                And as a Nation, we must recognize our obligation to 
                those who will come after us by preserving and 
                strengthening Medicare and Social Security for the 21st 
                century and beyond.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim May 1998 as Older Americans 
                Month. I call upon Government officials, businesses, 
                communities, educators, volunteers, and all the people 
                of the United States to acknowledge the contributions 
                older Americans have made, and continue to make, to the 
                life of our Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and 
                twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-12219
Filed 5-5-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P