Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Day, 1996

Proclamation 6905 of June 24, 1996

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Day,
1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) celebrates 50 years of service to our
Nation and to people around the world. Created from a
small organization whose mission was to combat the
spread of malaria among our troops during World War II,
the CDC has become our first line of defense against
disease, injury, and disability.

The CDC's history boasts a number of notable
achievements, including its key role in the eradication
of smallpox and the discovery of the causes of
Legionnaire's disease and toxic shock syndrome. The
agency has also led efforts to control and prevent
polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases, breast
and cervical cancer, lead poisoning, tuberculosis, and
AIDS. Recently, the CDC has been a leader in the global
efforts to fight emerging infectious illnesses by
investigating and containing diseases such as the
outbreak of plague in India and the Ebola outbreak in
Africa.

The CDC's innovative programs also address our national
challenges of chronic disease, workplace and
environmental hazards, injuries, birth defects,
disabilities, and new infectious threats. In addition,
the agency gathers and analyzes scientific data to
better monitor public health, provide a solid
foundation for decision-making, and detect risk
factors.

While technology and medical progress have worked
wonders for many, such advances are not always
available or practicable. The CDC's prevention efforts
are essential if we are to ensure that all Americans
can live in safe, healthy communities. By immunizing
our children, exercising regularly, and making other
healthy choices, each of us can join the CDC's efforts
to build a brighter future and a stronger Nation.

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 July 1, 1996, as Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Day. I call upon all the
people of the United States to join me in observing
this tribute to the CDC, to recognize the need for
preventive health measures, and to strive throughout
the year to realize the CDC's vision: Healthy people in
a healthy world--through prevention.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twentieth.