Parents' Day, 1999

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Part VII

The President

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Proclamation 7211--Parents' Day

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7211 of July 23, 1999

Parents' Day, 1999

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Parents are the foundation of the family and a
cornerstone of community life in America. They instill
the values, attitudes, and guidance children need to
become strong individuals and caring citizens; we turn
to our parents for the unconditional love and
encouragement we need to make the most of our lives and
to contribute to the life of our Nation. On Parents'
Day, we pay tribute to the millions of parents whose
care has nurtured us, whose vigilance has protected us,
and whose selfless devotion has blessed our lives.

The challenges of parenthood have changed as our
society has changed. In many American families, both
parents work outside the home and struggle to balance
the competing demands of job, home, and family. In
others, a single parent bears these responsibilities.

My Administration continues to support parents through
initiatives such as the Children's Health Insurance
Program and Head Start and by advocating child care,
adoption, and child welfare expansion. We have worked
hard to help parents support their families financially
by creating new jobs, raising the minimum wage,
expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, preserving the
national guarantee of health care for poor children,
and increasing child support collections to record
heights. We have helped parents balance work and family
by enacting the Family and Medical Leave Act and
releasing funds for after-school grants so that parents
do not have to choose between keeping their jobs and
ensuring that their children receive quality care and
supervision.

Though helping parents do their job has always been a
top priority of my Administration, we recognize that
government programs alone cannot solve all the problems
that families face today. For example, I am heartened
by the passionate commitment of parents across America
in response to our call for a national campaign to
prevent youth violence. This campaign will ask all
sectors of society to focus on this crucial issue, to
discover what measures work, and to share that
knowledge with other families in communities across our
country.

There is no single cause or solution to ending the
violence that has cut short too many young lives. But,
by working together, we can change the values of our
culture and influence the marketing strategies of media
industries so that our children are not continually
exposed to violent or other inappropriate materials in
the games they play, the programs and movies they
watch, or the music they hear. We also must continue
our efforts to ensure that our young people do not gain
unauthorized access to guns. Parents play a crucial
role in all of these endeavors by remaining involved in
the lives of their sons and daughters.

The First Lady and I have issued a challenge to our
Nation to celebrate the coming of the new millennium by
honoring the past and imagining the future. As we
prepare to enter the 21st century, let us remember
that, just as parents remain a treasured link to our
past, they also influence the future by raising their
children to become the responsible citizens of
tomorrow. On this day and throughout the year, let us
honor the millions

of devoted mothers and fathers who have fulfilled this
solemn responsibility with extraordinary compassion,
generosity, and love.

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 and consistent with Public Law 103-362, do
hereby proclaim Sunday, July 25, 1999, as Parents' Day.
I invite the States, communities, and the people of the
United States to join together in observing this day
with appropriate ceremonies and activities to honor our
Nation's parents.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-third day of July, 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-fourth.