[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 38 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Pages 2108-2110]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 7341--National Farm Safety And Health Week, 2000

 September 15, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Throughout history, America's farmers and ranchers have worked our 
land with skill, energy, and determination. They have endured floods and 
droughts, survived bitter winters and scorching summers, seen crops 
devastated by insects and livestock lost to disease. Through hard times 
and good times alike they have labored, making American agriculture the 
most efficient and productive source of food and fiber in the world.

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    Beyond the natural and economic challenges our Nation's agricultural 
workers face each year are the daily physical hazards associated with 
their profession, including handling livestock, using chemicals, and 
operating powerful machinery. To reduce the level of preventable 
workplace accidents that have taken such a toll on our country's 
agricultural communities, engineers and manufacturers have worked 
diligently to make farm equipment safer. Today, tractors and other farm 
machinery come with standard safety features such as rollover 
protection, bypass starting systems, and tamper-proof guarding and 
shielding.
    However, designing safer farm machinery is only part of the 
solution. We must also ensure that agricultural workers are aware of the 
benefits of new safety features and that they strive to use and maintain 
them. Safety and health organizations are accomplishing this vital task 
by offering hands-on, interactive training programs in farming and 
ranching communities across the country. Through safety day camps and 
farm safety programs targeted specifically for children and adolescents 
growing up on farms and ranches, they are helping to protect the well-
being of the most vulnerable members of our agricultural communities.
    My Administration is also working hard to improve the health and 
safety of rural Americans. For example, we created the E-rate program, 
which, among other things, secures low-cost Internet connections for 
rural health clinics and hospitals. We have also urged the Congress to 
fund a meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit that would provide 
affordable, dependable coverage to all beneficiaries, including more 
than 9 million Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities across the 
Nation. Compared to their urban counterparts, rural beneficiaries have 
lower incomes and more limited access to pharmacies, and are less likely 
to have any prescription drug coverage. Rural beneficiaries generally 
pay more for prescription drugs than urban beneficiaries and are more 
likely to go without needed medication because of its expense. 
Meaningful drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries would help improve 
the health and quality of life of millions of older members of our 
Nation's farming and ranching communities.
    All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to our country's farmers and 
ranchers, whose hard work puts food on our tables and helps ensure our 
Nation's leadership of the global economy. We can best acknowledge that 
debt by recognizing the importance of continually improving the health 
and safety of America's agricultural workers, not only during this 
special observance, but also throughout the year.
     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, 2000, as National Farm Safety and Health Week. 
I call upon government agencies, organizations, and businesses that 
serve our agricultural sector to strengthen their efforts to promote 
safety and health programs among our Nation's farm and ranch workers. I 
ask agricultural workers to take advantage of the diverse educational 
and training programs and technical advancements that can help them 
avoid injury and illness. I also call upon our Nation to recognize 
Wednesday, September 20, 2000, as a day to focus on the risks facing 
young people on farms and ranches. Finally, I call upon the citizens of 
our Nation to reflect on the bounty we enjoy thanks to the labor and 
dedication of agricultural workers across our land.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:18 a.m., September 
18, 2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
September 19. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.

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