[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 38 (Monday, September 25, 1995)]
[Pages 1572-1573]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6824--National Rehabilitation Week, 1995

September 15, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    National Rehabilitation Week offers us a unique opportunity each 
year to measure our progress on the long road to creating a totally 
accessible society in America. This year, as we also mark the 5th 
anniversary of the

[[Page 1573]]

Americans with Disabilities Act and the 75th anniversary of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1920, we can look back with satisfaction on the 
tremendous advances we have made on our journey.
    Because of the passage and implementation of these landmark pieces 
of legislation, millions of Americans with disabilities have received 
the training and skills to become competitive and productive employees. 
Working Americans who became disabled in mid-life have received the help 
they need to adapt to their changed circumstances and to resume their 
contributions to our society. Today, employers across the Nation are 
working closely with State rehabilitation agencies to ensure that men 
and women with disabilities are trained to succeed at the jobs of 
tomorrow.
    Thanks largely to the efforts of people with disabilities, America 
has come a long way from the time when these citizens were kept out of 
sight and out of mind. Today, our Nation's disability policies emphasize 
inclusion, independence, and empowerment. Our laws declare that 
Americans with disabilities have a fundamental right to full equality--
and are entitled to the same choices and opportunities as their fellow 
citizens who are not disabled.
    But we still have a long way to travel before we reach our goal of 
full equality in fact as well as in law. Today, two-thirds of all 
persons with disabilities remain unemployed, although many of them 
already have received appropriate training and rehabilitative services. 
And even more distressing, millions of these individuals would find it 
difficult to work if a job were offered to them simply because our 
society has not instituted the changes needed to help them perform their 
work responsibilities.
    People with disabilities want to work, and it is vital that we offer 
them the means to gain full employment. Not only is this the right thing 
to do, it is the prudent thing as well. If America is to continue to 
succeed in our rapidly changing global economy, we cannot afford to 
waste the talents, knowledge, vision, or abilities of a single 
individual.
    Let us celebrate National Rehabilitation Week by rededicating 
ourselves to the spirit of equality. As we move toward the era of hope 
and opportunity promised by the 21st century, we must guarantee that 
every American has a share in that hope and ensure that the doors of 
opportunity are open to all. By empowering each person, including those 
with disabilities, to live up to his or her full potential, we will 
infuse our Nation with fresh energy for the challenges before us.
    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 September 
17 through September 23, 1995, as ``National Rehabilitation Week.'' I 
call upon the people of the United States, including government 
officials, employers, educators, and volunteers, to observe this week 
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities honoring all those 
who work for self-determination, equal treatment, and full 
participation.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:34 p.m., September 
18, 1995]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 16, and it was published in the Federal Register 
on September 19.