    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 39 (Monday, September 27, 2004)]
    [Pages 2137-2138]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Proclamation 7820--Family Day, 2004

     September 24, 2004

     By the President of the United States

     of America

     A Proclamation

        During this time of great change in our Nation, we remain dedicated
    to the fundamental American values of courage and compassion, reverence
    and integrity, and respect for others. On Family Day, we affirm our
    commitment to strengthening America's families and supporting them as
    they work to raise healthy and responsible children.
        Strong families help young people take responsibility, understand
    the consequences of their actions, and recognize that the decisions they
    make today could affect the rest of their lives. By spending time with
    their children, parents prepare them to realize a bright future.
        It should always be a goal of government to encourage marriage and
    strengthen families. My 2005 budget proposal includes more than $290
    million in funding for programs that support healthy marriages, research
    and demonstration projects on family formation, and initiatives to
    promote responsible fatherhood.
        We have made significant progress over the past decade in helping
    our young people make the right choices. Smoking and illicit drug use
    have declined among youth, teen birth rates have fallen to the lowest
    levels ever recorded, and violent crime among teenagers has decreased
    dramatically. My Administration is also supporting families by
    encouraging character education in schools to help children develop a
    sense of responsibility to their communities. We are advancing
    abstinence-only education programs to help reduce the number of teen
    pregnancies and teenagers contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and
    we are promoting school drug testing to identify kids who need help.
    When parents, schools, and government work together, we can counter the
    negative influences in today's culture and send a positive message to
    our youth.

    [[Page 2138]]

        Families instill the essential values we live by. By supporting
    them, we make America a better and more hopeful place.
         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 27, 2004, as
    Family Day. I call on the people of the United States to observe this
    day by engaging in activities that honor the relationship between
    parents and children and help keep our young people healthy and safe.
         In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth
    day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
    ninth.
                                                    George W. Bush

     [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:04 a.m., September
    27, 2004]

    Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on
    September 28.