[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.