[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 40 (Monday, October 9, 2000)]
[Pages 2273-2274]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7347--National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2000

September 29, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act and the 10th anniversary of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act (ADA). These two landmark civil rights laws have 
opened the doors of opportunity for people with disabilities and 
increased our awareness of the enormous contributions that Americans 
with disabilities can make to our national life.
    A decade ago, when we were debating the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, critics said that making workplaces, public transportation, public 
facilities, and telecommunications more accessible would be too costly 
and burdensome. But they have been proved wrong. Since passage of the 
ADA in 1990, more than a million men and women with disabilities have 
entered the labor force and, as taxpayers, consumers, and workers, they 
are contributing to a period of unprecedented prosperity and record 
employment in our country.
    Throughout my Administration, we have worked hard to break down the 
barriers that people with disabilities continue to face on a daily 
basis. In 1998, I signed the Workforce Investment Act, requiring that 
information technology purchased by the Federal Government be accessible 
to people with disabilities. In 1999, I was proud to sign the Ticket to 
Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, which enables Americans with 
disabilities to retain their Medicare or Medicaid coverage when they go 
to work, because no one should have to choose between health care and a 
job. We are also dramatically expanding the income students with 
disabilities can earn while retaining access to disability benefits; and 
to lead by example, we are hiring more people with disabilities 
throughout the Federal Government.
    Today's revolution in information and communications technology 
offers us powerful new tools to expand employment and training 
opportunities for people with disabilities. Whether translating web 
pages aloud for people who are blind or visually impaired, creating 
captioning for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, or enabling people 
with physical disabilities to control a computer through eye movement 
and brain waves, these technologies show enormous potential for 
increasing access to employment and full participation in society. We 
are exploring ways that Medicare and Medicaid can be enhanced to cover 
the cost of assistive technology so that people can live and work more 
independently in the communities of their choosing. And I was pleased to 
announce on September 21 that dozens of corporate leaders from the 
technology sector and the presidents of many of America's leading 
research universities have pledged to make their products and services 
accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
    A new generation of young people with disabilities is growing up in 
America today--graduating from high school, going to college, and 
preparing to participate fully in the workplace. They have a right to 
make the

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most of their potential, and our Nation must make the most of their 
intellect, talents, and abilities. By working together to break down 
barriers for Americans with disabilities, we will keep our economy 
growing, make a lasting investment in the future of our country, and 
uphold our fundamental commitment to justice and equality for all our 
people.
    To recognize the enormous potential of individuals with disabilities 
and to encourage all Americans to work toward their full integration 
into the workforce, the Congress, by joint resolution approved August 
11, 1945, as amended (36 U.S.C. 121), has designated October of each 
year as ``National Disability Employment Awareness Month.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 2000 as National 
Disability Employment Awareness Month. I call upon Government officials, 
educators, labor leaders, employers, and the people of the United States 
to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities that 
reaffirm our determination to fulfill the letter and spirit of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
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, 8:45 a.m., October 3, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 30, and it was published in the Federal Register 
on October 4.