[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 43 (Monday, October 30, 1995)]
[Page 1927]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6843--National Consumers Week, 1995

October 23, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Business and trade have always been central to the American 
experience. In the period since the Industrial Revolution, the 
extraordinary growth of our economy has created a marketplace that is 
the foundation of global commerce. Unparalleled natural and human 
resources have energized every part of our society--from the 
agricultural heartland that feeds an international community; to the 
textile and steel mills that began the machine age in America; to the 
scientific, computer, and information companies that are leading the way 
into the fast-paced world of the 21st century.
    Consumer protections such as fair pricing and product safety rules 
are more necessary than ever to ensure that all of us are able to fully 
and fairly participate in a free enterprise system that encourages 
competition, productivity, and innovation. These protections have 
evolved alongside the remarkable expansion of the world economy. In 
1962, President John F. Kennedy clarified the importance of consumer 
protection in a Special Message to Congress that has become known as the 
Consumer Bill of Rights. This statement articulated each person's rights 
to safety, information, and choice, and the right to be heard in the 
process of resolving consumer problems. In 1975 President Gerald R. Ford 
added the right to consumer education.
    As the driving force behind the richest, most prosperous country in 
the world, the United States' free market is a model for others to 
emulate. We must ensure that our system continues to emphasize the 
centrality of the consumer even as it becomes increasingly technology-
oriented. Accordingly, last year, I was proud to add the latest element 
to the Consumer Bill of Rights--the right to service--which urges that 
convenience, courtesy, performance, and responsiveness remain hallmarks 
of the American marketplace. So that Federal workers and agencies can 
take the lead in providing high-quality service, my Administration has 
also initiated the National Performance Review to improve efficiency and 
promote excellence in every sector of our Government.
    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 October 
22 through October 28 as National Consumers Week. I call upon Government 
officials, industry leaders, and the people of the United States to 
recognize the vital relationship between our economy and our citizenry 
and to support the right of all Americans to service excellence.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third 
day of October, 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, 2:36 p.m., October 24, 
1995]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
26.