[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 198 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 55319-55320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27794]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 198 / Wednesday, October 14, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 55319]]


                Proclamation 7139 of October 9, 1998

                
National Children's Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                One of the most important measures of our success as a 
                Nation is the well-being of our children. As a society, 
                we have no more important responsibility than to help 
                our families raise healthy, happy, loving children in 
                an environment that allows kids to reach their full 
                potential. My Administration is committed to this goal, 
                and we have made significant progress over the past 
                five and a half years through initiatives and 
                legislation designed to strengthen families, protect 
                our children's health, and invest in their education.

                By providing a tax credit of $500 per child to 26 
                million families, increasing the minimum wage, and 
                cutting taxes through extending the Earned Income Tax 
                Credit, we have helped millions of working families. We 
                have dramatically increased Federal funding for child 
                care and proposed additional subsidies and tax credits 
                to help families pay for such care.

                Through the Family and Medical Leave Act, we have made 
                it easier for working parents to take as much as 12 
                weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new baby or a sick 
                child without jeopardizing their jobs. And the landmark 
                Adoption and Safe Families Act I signed into law last 
                year helps the thousands of children in foster care by 
                working to reunite them with their families, where 
                possible, or move them more quickly into secure, 
                permanent adoptive families when that is the best 
                option.

                To meet our commitment to the health of all our 
                children, we have extended health care coverage to 
                millions of previously uninsured children through the 
                Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the largest 
                national investment in children's health care in more 
                than 30 years. Children with health insurance get a 
                healthier start in life because they receive regular 
                checkups and routine immunizations. We are working with 
                the States to ensure that every child eligible for CHIP 
                is enrolled, and we are focusing on enrolling the more 
                than 4 million uninsured children who are currently 
                eligible for health coverage under the Medicaid 
                program.

                To empower America's children with the skills and 
                knowledge they need to make the most of their lives, 
                our Nation has also made the largest investment in 
                education in more than a generation. Today, more than 
                800,000 children are enrolled in Head Start, receiving 
                the attention and training they need to start school 
                ready to learn. We are also working with the Congress 
                to pass legislation that will provide public schools 
                with more teachers, smaller class sizes, new or 
                renovated buildings, and the latest in information 
                technology.

                Children are our greatest blessing, and raising them 
                well is the most challenging and rewarding task any of 
                us will ever undertake. On National Children's Day, let 
                us recommit ourselves--as loving parents and caring 
                citizens--to ensure that all of America's children grow 
                up in truly nurturing environments where their needs 
                are met and where they have every opportunity to make 
                the most of their lives.

[[Page 55320]]

                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 October 11, 1998, as 
                National Children's Day. I urge the American people to 
                express their love and appreciation for children on 
                this day and on every day throughout the year. I invite 
                Federal officials, local governments, communities, and 
                particularly all American families to join together in 
                observing this day with appropriate ceremonies and 
                activities that honor our Nation's children. I also 
                urge all Americans to reflect upon the importance of 
                children to our families, the importance of strong 
                families to our children, and the importance of each to 
                America.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                ninth day of October, 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-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-27794
Filed 10-13-98; 11:43 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P