[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 48 (Monday, November 30, 1998)]
[Page 2357]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7152--National Family Week, 1998

November 20, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Of all the blessings that Americans enjoy, our families are perhaps 
the most precious. It is within the family that we first gain an 
understanding of who we are and learn to respect the individuality of 
others. It is to our families that we turn for the unconditional love, 
acceptance, comfort, and support we need. And it is our families who 
teach us how to give that love and support to others, helping us to grow 
into strong, caring adults who can contribute to the well-being of our 
communities and our world.
    In the broad and diverse America of today, families take many 
different forms, but they all share a need for security and stability. 
If we are to maintain strong families as the cornerstone of our society 
and our hope for the future, it is our responsibility as individuals to 
strengthen and protect our own families--and it is our responsibility as 
Americans to reach out with compassion to help other families in need.
    My Administration has worked hard to help provide America's families 
with the tools they need to thrive. Our economic polices have brought 
dignity, security, and opportunity to millions of families by creating 
new jobs and reducing unemployment.
    The most important work, however, is always done in the hearts and 
homes of individuals. During this week, I encourage all Americans to 
reflect upon the many blessings of family life and to join in our 
national effort to promote strong, loving families across our country. 
By strengthening and supporting the American family, we are ensuring 
that the future will be bright for our children, our Nation, and the 
world.
    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 the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
November 22 through November 28, 1998, as National Family Week. I call 
upon Federal, State, and local officials to honor American families with 
appropriate programs and activities. I encourage educators, community 
organizations, and religious leaders to celebrate the strength and 
values we draw from family relationships, and I urge all the people of 
the United States to reaffirm their own family ties and to reach out to 
other families in friendship and goodwill.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day 
of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 24, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 21 and was published in the Federal Register on 
November 25.