[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 93 (Thursday, May 14, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26711-26712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13041]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 / Thursday, May 14, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 26711]]

                Proclamation 7094 of May 8, 1998

                
National Defense Transportation Day and National 
                Transportation Week, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America's transportation system is the finest in the 
                world. The web of streets, highways, bridges, and 
                railroads that crisscross our Nation and our complex 
                network of shipping lanes and air routes keep us 
                connected to one another and the world. They enable us 
                to move people and goods swiftly and efficiently across 
                the country and around the globe and fuel the engine of 
                our robust economy. Whether building subways, 
                constructing new highways, or improving airplane 
                safety, the dedicated and hardworking men and women of 
                our national transportation system keep America moving.

                As we look forward to a new century, we must build on 
                our record of achievement. As always, our first 
                priority must be the safety of those who use our 
                Nation's transportation system. We have already made 
                great progress in improving highway safety--the traffic 
                fatality rate today is two-and-a-half times less than 
                it was 30 years ago. However, by increasing seat belt 
                use, ensuring that our children are properly secured in 
                our vehicles, and lowering the threshold for drunk 
                driving to a blood alcohol concentration of .08, we can 
                further reduce the number of traffic accidents and the 
                harm they cause.

                We also must strive to keep our Nation's transportation 
                system secure and our borders safe from terrorists and 
                drug traffickers. Today, through improved training 
                techniques and advanced technology, we have increased 
                security at our airports, and programs such as the 
                Coast Guard's Operation Frontier Shield have helped to 
                seize tons of illegal drugs and abort numerous drug 
                smuggling attempts.

                While recognizing the many benefits we derive from our 
                transportation system, we also acknowledge the need to 
                use and develop it responsibly to ensure the protection 
                of our environment. We are making progress in this goal 
                as well: we have funded many projects to improve 
                transit services and accommodations for bicyclists and 
                pedestrians; we are turning historic railroad terminals 
                into multimodal transportation centers; and funds from 
                transportation programs have helped to support wetlands 
                restoration projects and have aided communities in 
                planning both transit projects and sustainable 
                development. We must build on these efforts by also 
                working to reduce the pollutants and greenhouse gases 
                that our transportation system creates.

                Recognizing the need for safety, security, and 
                environmental stewardship in America's transportation 
                system, we also must invest in our transportation 
                infrastructure. Together with the Congress, my 
                Administration has provided funding for construction 
                projects in communities across the country, creating 
                700,000 new transportation-related jobs in the last 5 
                years. Our fiscal 1999 budget proposal for 
                transportation infrastructure is 42 percent higher than 
                the average level of investment from 1990 to 1993. The 
                240 trade agreements we have signed since 1993, 
                including 27 ``open skies'' aviation agreements in the 
                last 3 years, have opened markets around the world for 
                American products. America's transportation system will 
                enable us to seize these unprecedented opportunities 
                for trade and economic growth.

[[Page 26712]]

                In recognition of the importance of our Nation's 
                transportation system to our national security and 
                economic success, and in gratitude to the outstanding 
                men and women who ensure its continued excellence, the 
                United States Congress, by joint resolution approved 
                May 16, 1957 (36 U.S.C. 160), has designated the third 
                Friday in May of each year as ``National Defense 
                Transportation Day'' and, by joint resolution approved 
                May 14, 1962 (36 U.S.C. 166), declared that the week in 
                which that Friday falls be designated ``National 
                Transportation Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, 
                May 15, 1998, as National Defense Transportation Day 
                and May 10 through May 16, 1998, as National 
                Transportation Week. I urge all Americans to observe 
                these occasions with appropriate ceremonies and 
                activities, giving due recognition to the individuals 
                and organizations that build, operate, and maintain 
                this country's modern transportation systems.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth 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. 98-13041
Filed 5-13-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P