Older Americans Month, 1999

Proclamation 7190 of April 30, 1999

Older Americans Month, 1999

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As we look forward to the 21st century, we honor the
millions of older Americans whose contributions have
strengthened and sustained our Nation throughout the
20th century. These special citizens have led us
through times of conflict, depression, peace, and
prosperity and have witnessed firsthand the milestones
that have defined this era as the ``American Century.''
This month, as we salute their achievements, let us
also renew our commitment to preserve for older
Americans a quality of life that will help them look
ahead to the future with peace of mind.

In recent decades, extraordinary advances in science,
technology, and medicine, as well as our increased
awareness of the importance of good nutrition and
physical fitness, have enabled Americans to live
longer, healthier lives. Over the course of the past
100 years, the average American's life-span has
lengthened by nearly three decades, with the percentage
of older Americans in our population more than
tripling. By the year 2030, one in five Americans will
be aged 65 or older.

As we enter the new millennium with a strong economy
and the first budget surpluses since the 1960s, we have
a historic opportunity to embrace the challenges and
possibilities of a society where men and women will
lead longer, more active, more productive lives. My
Administration is working to make the most of this
opportunity by proposing to set aside more than 75
percent of any budget surplus over the next 15 years to
protect Social Security and Medicare; and we will also
work to increase our investment in the scientific and
medical research and development programs that will
continue to lengthen and improve the lives of Americans
in the years to come. We must continue to support older
Americans--as well as their caregivers and those who
provide critical home and community-based services--
through a strong, reauthorized Older Americans Act; and
we must work to ensure that long-term care needs are
met now and in the future.

The theme of this year's celebration, ``Honor the Past,
Imagine the Future: Towards a Society for all Ages,''
reminds us of the profound debt of gratitude we owe to
the generations of older Americans whose hard work,
courage, faith, sacrifice, and patriotism helped to
make this Nation great. Through turmoil and triumph,
these Americans not only have defended our fundamental
values of liberty, justice, and equality, but they also
have handed down to younger generations the enduring
traditions of community, family, and love of country
that bind our society together.

Long life is a gift we must cherish and a wonderful
opportunity and responsibility for which we must
prepare. I urge all Americans to take time during this
month to reaffirm our commitment, as individuals and as
a Nation, to meet the challenges of an aging society.
Working together, we can improve the lives of our older
citizens, their families, and their caregivers and
strive to ensure that all Americans enjoy healthy,
financially secure, and productive lives.

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 May 1999 as Older Americans
Month. I urge Government officials, business people,
community leaders, educators, volunteers, and all the
other people of the United States to celebrate the
contributions older Americans have made throughout
their lives to the progress of our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-third.