[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 31 (Monday, August 8, 1994)]
[Pages 1585-1586]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6710--National Scleroderma Awareness Month, 1994

July 29, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Literally meaning ``hard skin,'' scleroderma is a chronic disease 
that thickens and attaches the skin to underlying structures. Its cause 
is unknown.
    Scleroderma strikes individuals of every age, sex, and ethnic 
background, although women between the ages of 25 and 55 are four times 
more likely to be afflicted. It is a painful and sometimes progressive 
disorder of the connective tissue that can cause disability, 
disfigurement, and even death. Its impact, in terms of both physical and 
emotional suffering, is enormous.
    In patients with scleroderma, there is an excess production of 
collagen, the main fibrous component of connective tissue. As a result, 
the formation of dense, compact tissue causes the skin to lose its 
elasticity. Scleroderma is also a disease of the vascular and immune 
systems and can impair internal organs, such as the kidneys, lungs, 
heart, and gastrointestinal tract.
    New biomedical research findings and innovative approaches to 
diagnosis and treatment are essential in fighting against this 
multifaceted disorder. The Federal Government and private voluntary 
organizations are working together to increase both public awareness of 
and research on scleroderma. Their objective is to discover the cause of 
this devastating disease and to develop effective ways to prevent, 
treat, and cure it.
    I applaud all those who are working to bring public attention to 
this disabling illness, those who are aiding its victims, and those who 
are researching its complex nature.
    The Congress, by Public Law 103-92, has designated the month of 
August 1994 as ``National Scleroderma Awareness Month'' and has 
authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in 
observance of this month.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of August 1994 as 
National Scleroderma Awareness Month. I urge all Government agencies and 
the people of the United States, as well as educational, philanthropic, 
scientific, medical, and health care organizations and professionals, to 
participate in appropriate activities to encourage greater awareness of 
scleroderma and further research into its cause and cure.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:14 p.m., August 2, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on August 
4. This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.

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