[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 98 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31783-31784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12807]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 31783]]

                Proclamation 7308 of May 15, 2000

                
National Defense Transportation Day and National 
                Transportation Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Throughout the past century, America's national 
                transportation system has played a crucial role in 
                strengthening our economy, protecting our safety, and 
                improving the quality of life for all Americans. 
                Interconnecting networks of railroads, ports, and 
                waterways have transported millions of passengers and 
                billions of dollars' worth of freight. Our national 
                highway system connected cities to rural communities 
                and people to jobs. The Wright Brothers' invention of 
                the airplane gave birth to a world-class aviation 
                system that revolutionized travel, created new 
                industries, and brought the nations of the world 
                closer. The quality and versatility of all these modes 
                of transportation gave our Nation a powerful defense 
                tool as well, enabling us to move troops and materiel 
                swiftly and efficiently in times of conflict and 
                crisis. Now, as we begin a new century, our national 
                transportation system must embrace exciting new 
                possibilities and new challenges.

                One of the most important of those challenges is 
                safety. Advances in technology offer us great hope for 
                progress in reducing accidents and fatalities. For 
                example, the Federal Aviation Administration is working 
                in partnership with the airline industry, pilots, 
                technicians, and air traffic controllers to use 
                improved forecasting and new communications technology 
                to detect severe weather sooner, to let pilots and 
                passengers know promptly about anticipated delays, and 
                to centralize air traffic decisionmaking during severe 
                storms in order to reduce delays. Automobile 
                manufacturers are also using new technologies and 
                design innovations--from stronger metals to new safety 
                lights to advanced brake technology--to prevent 
                accidents and save lives.

                Another of our great transportation challenges is to 
                develop alternative fuels and clean energy sources that 
                will not harm our environment. Earlier this year, I 
                signed an Executive Order to ensure the Federal 
                Government's leadership in reducing petroleum 
                consumption and promoting the use of alternative fuel 
                vehicles (AFVs). By developing and using AFVs, we can 
                reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants, enhance 
                our Nation's energy self-sufficiency by reducing the 
                demand for imported oil, and create new products and 
                jobs.

                If we make wise and informed choices today and in the 
                years to come, we can make our communities more 
                livable, give our citizens greater choice and mobility, 
                protect our environment, and help create a truly global 
                community. The 20th century was indeed a golden age for 
                transportation; the 21st century can be an even 
                brighter one.

                In recognition of the importance of our Nation's 
                transportation system to our national security and 
                economic health, and in honor of the many dedicated men 
                and women who have ensured its continued excellence 
                through the years, the United States Congress, by joint 
                resolution approved May 16, 1957 (36 U.S.C. 120), 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. 133), 
                declared that the week during which that Friday falls 
                be designated ``National Transportation Week.''

[[Page 31784]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, 
                May 19, 2000, as National Defense Transportation Day 
                and May 14 through May 20, 2000, as National 
                Transportation Week. I urge all Americans to observe 
                these occasions with appropriate ceremonies, programs, 
                and activities.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-12807
Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P