[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 18 (Monday, May 10, 1999)]
[Pages 774-775]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 7190--Older Americans Month, 1999

April 30, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    As we look forward to the 21st century, we honor the millions of 
older Americans whose contributions have strengthened and sustained our 
Nation throughout the 20th century. These special citizens have led us 
through times of conflict, depression, peace, and prosperity and have 
witnessed firsthand the milestones that have defined this era as the 
``American Century.'' This month, as we salute their achievements, let 
us also renew our commitment to preserve for older Americans a quality 
of life that will help them look ahead to the future with peace of mind.
    In recent decades, extraordinary advances in science, technology, 
and medicine, as well as our increased awareness of the importance of 
good nutrition and physical fitness, have enabled Americans to live 
longer, healthier lives. Over the course of the past 100 years, the 
average American's life-span has lengthened by nearly three decades, 
with the percentage of older Americans in our population more than 
tripling. By the year 2030, one in five Americans will be aged 65 or 
older.
    As we enter the new millennium with a strong economy and the first 
budget surpluses since the 1960s, we have a historic opportunity to 
embrace the challenges and possibilities of a society where men and 
women will lead longer, more active, more productive lives. My 
Administration is working to make the most of this opportunity by 
proposing to set aside more than 75 percent of any budget surplus over 
the next 15 years to protect Social Security and Medicare; and we will 
also work to increase our investment in the scientific and medical 
research and development programs that will continue to lengthen and 
improve the lives of Americans in the years to come. We must continue to 
support older Americans--as well as their caregivers and those who 
provide critical home and community-based services--through a strong, 
reauthorized Older Americans Act; and we must work to ensure that long-
term care needs are met now and in the future.
    The theme of this year's celebration, ``Honor the Past, Imagine the 
Future: Towards a Society for all Ages,'' reminds us of the profound 
debt of gratitude we owe to the generations of older Americans whose 
hard work, courage, faith, sacrifice, and patriotism helped to make this 
Nation great. Through turmoil and triumph, these Americans not only have 
defended our fundamental values of liberty, justice, and equality, but 
they also have handed down to younger generations the enduring 
traditions of community, family, and love of country that bind our 
society together.
    Long life is a gift we must cherish and a wonderful opportunity and 
responsibility for which we must prepare. I urge all Americans to take 
time during this month to reaffirm our commitment, as individuals and as 
a Nation, to meet the challenges of an aging society. Working together, 
we can improve the lives of our older citizens, their families, and 
their caregivers and strive to ensure that all Americans enjoy healthy, 
financially secure, and productive lives.
    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 May 1999 
as Older Americans Month. I urge Government officials, business people, 
community leaders, educators, volunteers, and all the other people of 
the United States to celebrate the contributions older Americans have 
made throughout their lives to the progress of our Nation.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day 
of April, in the

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year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 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., May 4, 1999]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on May 5. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.