Older Americans Month, 1998

Proclamation 7092 of May 4, 1998

Older Americans Month, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In just over a decade from now, the first of America's
77 million baby boomers will celebrate their 65th
birthdays. Fortunately, visionary programs like Social
Security, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act will
help to make life easier for them as they reach this
milestone.

For more than 60 years, Social Security has provided
our older citizens with a measure of economic security.
For more than 30 years, Medicare has given them access
to quality health care and the latest in medical
advances. And older Americans in need of greater
assistance have been able to look to programs under the
Older Americans Act for the critical home and
community-based care services that have enabled
millions of elderly men and women to live
independently. Together, these farsighted measures have
played a major role in dramatically reducing the
poverty rate and extending the longevity of older
Americans, allowing our citizens to grow old with
dignity and peace of mind.

This year's Older Americans Month celebration centers
around the theme ``Living Longer; Growing Stronger in
America.'' As we enter a new century and address the
challenges of an aging America, we must commit
ourselves to the health and welfare of our older
Americans and to protecting and strengthening Medicare
and Social Security. One of the most important
achievements of the Balanced Budget Act that I signed
last summer was its unprecedented reform of the
Medicare program. This bipartisan effort extends the
life of the Medicare Trust Fund for a decade, includes
new health plan choices, and adds coverage of
preventive benefits. The legislation also established
the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of
Medicare to, among other things, review and analyze the
financial condition of Medicare so that it remains as
strong for our children as it has been for our parents.

We must respond with equal resolve to the increasing
strains on the Social Security system. Now that we have
succeeded in dramatically reducing the Federal budget
deficit, I have called on the Congress to reserve all
of the anticipated budget surplus until we have a
comprehensive plan to strengthen Social Security for
the 21st century. We are holding a series of regional
conferences throughout the year to engage in a national
discussion on the future of Social Security, both to
raise awareness of the problem and to allow all
Americans to contribute their ideas for a solution. At
the end of the year, I will host a bipartisan White
House Conference on Social Security to summarize the
lessons we learn from this dialogue and to map out an
effective strategy that will enable us to ensure that
Social Security will be there for future generations of
Americans.

During Older Americans Month--and throughout the year--
I encourage all Americans to pay tribute to our older
citizens and to follow their example by planning for
the future. As individuals, we should take care of our
health through proper diet, exercise, and appropriate
preventive care, and we should plan for our future
financial security by participating in retirement and
savings programs. As families and communities, we can
help older Americans to remain active and independent
members of our communities.

And as a Nation, we must recognize our obligation to
those who will come after us by preserving and
strengthening Medicare and Social Security for the 21st
century and beyond.

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 1998 as Older Americans
Month. I call upon Government officials, businesses,
communities, educators, volunteers, and all the people
of the United States to acknowledge the contributions
older Americans have made, and continue to make, to the
life of our Nation.

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