[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 42 (Monday, October 25, 1993)]
[Pages 2124-2125]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6616--National Biomedical Research Day, 1993

 October 20, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    The Congress has designated October 21, 1993, as ``National 
Biomedical Research Day.'' On this day, we celebrate the central role 
played by biomedical research in improving human health and longevity, 
and we acknowledge the promise this wide-ranging endeavor holds for 
securing the future physical and mental well-being of people around the 
world. Biomedical research not only yields the requisite information 
that scientists and physicians need to prevent and treat diseases but 
also reveals the fundamental nature of life in humans, other animals, 
and plants.
    There is an intriguing quality to biomedical research: A discovery 
does not always predict its future uses. As a consequence, it is 
essential that the Nation continue to champion broad-based studies of 
both the normal and the disease processes. These studies will yield a 
fundamental understanding of biological systems and will provide us with 
the foundation of knowledge needed to ensure successful responses to 
current and future health problems.
    An event that took place 40 years ago illustrates how vital such 
fundamental knowledge is. In 1953, Nobel laureates Drs. James D. Watson 
and Francis H.C. Crick described the structure of DNA, the genetic 
material of all living things. Today, as a direct outcome of their basic 
research, gene therapy has been devised for children with severe 
combined immune deficiency; accurate diagnostic tests are available for 
many life-threatening diseases and conditions; and the genetic 
mechanisms underlying disorders like cystic fibrosis and Huntington's 
disease have been identified.
    The discovery of the structure of DNA also set the stage for the 
development of recombinant DNA technology, out of which has blossomed 
the biotechnology industry. In just the past 10 years, some 1,300 
biotechnology companies have been formed. Through biotechnology, 
chemists and biologists are able to design and produce novel medicines 
and vaccines for clinical use. Scientists have learned how to commandeer 
the cellular machinery of living organisms, so that these organisms 
produce needed proteins and other biological molecules. Researchers have 
also genetically ``engineered'' crop plants to make them hardier and 
resistant to pests. The success of the biotechnology industry has also 
enhanced the economic competitiveness of the United States in the world 
marketplace. There is no doubt that the future fruits of biotechnology, 
both medical and economic, will be even greater.
    The continuing preeminence of the United States in biomedical 
research reflects the contributions of many groups of dedicated 
professionals at work in Federal agencies such as the National 
Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
and in government-supported laboratories at universities, hospitals, and 
private research facilities. Teachers at all levels--from those who 
encourage our kindergartners to those who train biomedical specialists--
are also helping to ensure the future success of biomedical research, an 
enterprise that cannot go forward without both strong practitioners and 
a supportive public.
    Unraveling the mysteries of living organisms remains a daunting 
task. But, through biomedical research, the ceaseless whooping coughs of 
children have been silenced; smallpox no longer exacts a human toll 
anywhere on the Earth; and vaccines, treatments, and cures are at hand 
for many diseases. As the struggles continue against AIDS, cancer, heart 
and lung diseases, arthritis, diabetes,

[[Page 2125]]

Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other 
afflictions, we look to the successes of the biomedical community for 
our inspiration.
    We look to the future with our eyes open and with unflagging support 
for continued biomedical research that is broad enough and deep enough 
to establish a firm foundation of knowledge from which effective cures 
and therapies will emerge.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 21, 1993, as National 
Biomedical Research Day. I invite the Governors of the 50 States and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the appropriate officials of all other 
jurisdictions under the American flag, to issue similar proclamations. I 
ask every beneficiary of biomedical research; that is, every citizen of 
this country, to acknowledge the true worth of biomedical research. I 
ask biomedical researchers, health care professionals, schools and 
universities, community organizations, and businesses to join in efforts 
to celebrate the successes of biomedical research and to promote this 
enterprise.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:23 a.m., October 21, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 21, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 22.