[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 39 (Monday, October 1, 2001)]
[Pages 1388-1389]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7471--National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2001

 September 28, 2001

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    For more than 30 years, the United States has annually celebrated 
the rich history and cultural traditions of our Nation's Hispanic 
American people. National Hispanic Heritage Month provides us an 
opportunity to express deep appreciation to Hispanic Americans for their 
countless contributions to our society and to pay tribute again to 
America's distinctive diversity.
    Since our Nation's founding, Hispanic Americans have played an 
integral role in our country's exceptional story of success. Hispanic 
Americans served with heroism in every major American military conflict. 
The Continental Army benefited from the valor of Bernardo de Galvez, who 
led his frequently outnumbered troops to numerous victories against the 
British. Luis Esteves organized the first Puerto Rico National Guard and 
rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army to become a distinguished 
Brigadier General. And 38 Hispanics have earned our Nation's highest 
military decoration, the Medal of Honor. The United States academic and 
scientific communities benefited from the contributions of Hispanic 
Americans like physicist Luis Walter Alvarez, who was awarded the Nobel 
Prize in Physics in 1986. Business leaders like Roberto Goizueta have 
had a positive effect on our Nation's economy; and many Hispanics have 
greatly influenced America's artistic, legal, and political communities.
    Today, Hispanic culture continues to shape the American experience. 
More than 30 million Americans, about 1 in 8 people in the United 
States, claim Hispanic origin. They contribute to every walk of 
contemporary American life, while simultaneously preserving the unique 
customs and traditions of their ancestors. All Americans, regardless of 
national origin, celebrate the vibrant Hispanic American spirit that 
influences our Nation's art, music, food, and faiths. We also celebrate 
the practices of commitment to family, love of country, and respect for 
others, virtues that transcend ethnicity, reflect the American spirit, 
and are nobly exemplified in the Hispanic American community.
    The strong ties that Hispanic Americans maintain with their 
ancestral homeland remind us that the United States must pursue robust 
relations with its trading partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. 
The future of our hemisphere is closely tied to these relationships, and 
improving trade will play a vital role in building important links with 
our

[[Page 1389]]

Hispanic neighbors. Maintaining open and free trade creates job 
opportunities and promotes economic growth, improving the welfare of 
every citizen in every land it touches. Thus, we will negotiate for 
freer markets, which will allow us the opportunity to obtain better 
protections for our hemisphere's environment and will promote political 
freedom throughout the region.
    We have a great opportunity before us. By working together, we can 
achieve a fully democratic hemisphere, bound together by good will, 
cultural understanding, and free trade. The many contributions of 
Hispanic Americans to our Nation will help us reach this important goal 
by helping connect our country with the Hispanic nations to our south. 
This month, we celebrate the talents, culture, and spirit of Hispanic 
Americans, which deeply enrich our country and bless our people.
    The Congress, by Public Law 100-402, has authorized and requested 
the President to issue annually a proclamation designating September 15 
through October 15, as ``National Hispanic Heritage Month.'' I am proud 
to do so.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, 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 15 through 
October 15, 2001, as National Hispanic Heritage Month. I call upon all 
the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate 
ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 
day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 1, 
2001]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
October 2.