National Rehabilitation Week, 1995

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Part V

The President

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Proclamation 6824--National Rehabilitation Week, 1995

Executive Order 12971--Amendment to Executive Order No. 12425

Proclamation 6825--Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 1995

Notice of September 18, 1995--Continuation of Emergency With Respect to
UNITA

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 6824 of September 15, 1995

National Rehabilitation Week, 1995

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

National Rehabilitation Week offers us a unique
opportunity each year to measure our progress on the
long road to creating a totally accessible society in
America. This year, as we also mark the 5th anniversary
of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 75th
anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1920, we can
look back with satisfaction on the tremendous advances
we have made on our journey.

Because of the passage and implementation of these
landmark pieces of legislation, millions of Americans
with disabilities have received the training and skills
to become competitive and productive employees. Working
Americans who became disabled in mid-life have received
the help they need to adapt to their changed
circumstances and to resume their contributions to our
society. Today, employers across the Nation are working
closely with State rehabilitation agencies to ensure
that men and women with disabilities are trained to
succeed at the jobs of tomorrow.

Thanks largely to the efforts of people with
disabilities, America has come a long way from the time
when these citizens were kept out of sight and out of
mind. Today, our Nation's disability policies emphasize
inclusion, independence, and empowerment. Our laws
declare that Americans with disabilities have a
fundamental right to full equality--and are entitled to
the same choices and opportunities as their fellow
citizens who are not disabled.

But we still have a long way to travel before we reach
our goal of full equality in fact as well as in law.
Today, two-thirds of all persons with disabilities
remain unemployed, although many of them already have
received appropriate training and rehabilitative
services. And even more distressing, millions of these
individuals would find it difficult to work if a job
were offered to them simply because our society has not
instituted the changes needed to help them perform
their work responsibilities.

People with disabilities want to work, and it is vital
that we offer them the means to gain full employment.
Not only is this the right thing to do, it is the
prudent thing as well. If America is to continue to
succeed in our rapidly changing global economy, we
cannot afford to waste the talents, knowledge, vision,
or abilities of a single individual.

Let us celebrate National Rehabilitation Week by
rededicating ourselves to the spirit of equality. As we
move toward the era of hope and opportunity promised by
the 21st century, we must guarantee that every American
has a share in that hope and ensure that the doors of
opportunity are open to all. By empowering each person,
including those with disabilities, to live up to his or
her full potential, we will infuse our Nation with
fresh energy for the challenges before us.

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 September 17 through
September 23, 1995, as ``National Rehabilitation
Week.'' I call upon the people of the United States,
including government officials, employers, edu

cators, and volunteers, to observe this week with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities honoring all those who work
for self-determination, equal treatment, and full
participation.

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