[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 30 (Monday, August 2, 1999)]
[Pages 1473-1474]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7211--Parents' Day, 1999

July 23, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Parents are the foundation of the family and a cornerstone of 
community life in America. They instill the values, attitudes, and 
guidance children need to become strong individuals and caring citizens; 
we turn to our parents for the unconditional love and encouragement we 
need to make the most of our lives and to contribute to the life of our 
Nation. On Parents' Day, we pay tribute to the millions of parents whose 
care has nurtured us, whose vigilance has protected us, and whose 
selfless devotion has blessed our lives.
    The challenges of parenthood have changed as our society has 
changed. In many American families, both parents work outside the home 
and struggle to balance the competing demands of job, home, and family. 
In others, a single parent bears these responsibilities.
    My Administration continues to support parents through initiatives 
such as the Children's Health Insurance Program and Head Start and by 
advocating child care, adoption, and child welfare expansion. We have 
worked hard to help parents support their families financially by 
creating new jobs, raising the minimum wage, expanding the Earned Income 
Tax Credit, preserving the national guarantee of health care for poor 
children, and increasing child support collections to record heights. We 
have helped parents balance work and family by enacting the Family and 
Medical Leave Act and releasing funds for after-school grants so that 
parents do not have to choose between keeping their jobs and ensuring 
that their children receive quality care and supervision.
    Though helping parents do their job has always been a top priority 
of my Administration, we recognize that government programs alone cannot 
solve all the problems that families face today. For example, I am 
heartened by the passionate commitment of parents across America in 
response to our call for a national campaign to prevent youth violence. 
This campaign will ask all sectors of society to focus on this crucial 
issue, to discover what measures work, and to share that knowledge with 
other families in communities across our country.
    There is no single cause or solution to ending the violence that has 
cut short too many young lives. But, by working together, we can change 
the values of our culture and influence the marketing strategies of 
media industries so that our children are not continually exposed to 
violent or other inappropriate materials in the games they play, the 
programs and movies they watch, or the music they hear. We also must 
continue our efforts to

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ensure that our young people do not gain unauthorized access to guns. 
Parents play a crucial role in all of these endeavors by remaining 
involved in the lives of their sons and daughters.
    The First Lady and I have issued a challenge to our Nation to 
celebrate the coming of the new millennium by honoring the past and 
imagining the future. As we prepare to enter the 21st century, let us 
remember that, just as parents remain a treasured link to our past, they 
also influence the future by raising their children to become the 
responsible citizens of tomorrow. On this day and throughout the year, 
let us honor the millions of devoted mothers and fathers who have 
fulfilled this solemn responsibility with extraordinary compassion, 
generosity, and love.
    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 and consistent with Public 
Law 103-362, do hereby proclaim Sunday, July 25, 1999, as Parents' Day. 
I invite the States, communities, and the people of the United States to 
join together in observing this day with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities to honor our Nation's parents.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third 
day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., July 27, 
1999]

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