[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 21 (Monday, May 31, 1993)]
[Pages 946-947]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 6565--Older Americans Month, 1993

 May 25, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    This year marks the 30th anniversary of Older Americans Month--a 
time when we, as a Nation, honor our elder citizens and recognize the 
many contributions they have made to our country.
    Older Americans, having witnessed many of our Nation's historic 
milestones, are embodiments of 20th century American history. Many lived 
through the trying times of the Great War, the Depression, and the 
Second World War. With younger generations, older Americans shared the 
anguish of the Cold War and helped their more youthful countrymen get 
through this difficult period.
    Older Americans provide us with the experience, knowledge, and 
leadership that are needed to help our Nation ply the difficult waters 
of the present. Through their experience with adversity, older Americans 
understand the critical need for shared sacrifice in meeting the 
challenges we face. Their wisdom provides us with a valuable perspective 
on how we must reorient our society toward investment in the future. 
Working in a variety of roles, as volunteers and employees, millions of 
older Americans continue to give their communities the fruits of their 
labor.
    Today's older Americans are the best educated, most well-informed 
generation of elders our Nation has ever produced. The challenges they 
have met--and met successfully--have enabled them to make a continuing 
contribution with wisdom and understanding. We can see this not only in 
our families, as a new wave of responsible grandparenting helps ensure 
the future of our children, but also in our communities, which benefit 
from the experience and leadership of older Americans who volunteer 
their talent and time in fields ranging from business management to the 
arts.
    While we salute the continuing contribution of older Americans, we 
also acknowledge our debt and responsibility to them. We renew our 
commitment to preserving for them the quality of life they deserve. We 
will safeguard their economic security not only through preserving the 
Social Security system but also by strengthening our Nation's overall 
economic performance. We will provide the leadership that will help our 
elders remain independent members of the community for as long as 
possible. We will supply that help in the neighborhoods where they 
live--through the kinds of social and supportive services made possible 
through the Older Americans Act and other programs. And we can help ease 
the suffering and worry caused by increased medical expenses through 
enacting a national program of health care reform.
    By helping to preserve the security and independence of older 
Americans, we are also ensuring that our own futures will be ones of 
dignity with independence.
    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 the month 
of May 1993 as Older Americans Month. I call upon the people of the 
United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities in honor of our Nation's senior citizens.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth 
day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, 
and of the Independence of the

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United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:14 p.m., May 26, 1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on May 28.