National Family Caregivers Month, 2000

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Part VII

The President

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Proclamation 7370--National Family Caregivers Month, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7370 of November 5, 2000

National Family Caregivers Month, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the family
caregivers among us--the generous, compassionate
individuals who daily face the challenge of caring for
loved ones who are frail, chronically ill, or living
with disabilities that restrict their independence.
These everyday heroes, living quietly among us in
families and communities across the country, are the
major source of long-term care in America. By providing
billions of dollars' worth of caregiving services each
year, they dramatically reduce the demands on our
Nation's health care system and make an extraordinary
contribution to the quality of life of their loved
ones.

Caregivers often pay an emotional and physical price as
well as a financial one. Few enjoy any free time
because they must juggle the demands of home and work
while meeting the special needs of the individuals in
their care. Many do not have the support of other
family members or friends and consequently experience
depression, a sense of isolation, and the stress of
knowing they must carry out their important duties
alone. Studies have indicated that such caregiver
stress can have a physical consequence, contributing to
a higher mortality rate among elderly caregivers who
themselves have a history of chronic illness.

But caregivers should not have to face their challenges
alone, and my Administration has worked hard to ensure
that they will not have to do so. I am pleased that the
Congress has finally passed the Older Americans Act
Amendments of 2000, which will strengthen and improve
the services available to senior citizens in every
State, from home-delivered meals to transportation
services to legal assistance. This legislation also
includes authorization for our new National Family
Caregiver Support Program, which will provide quality
respite care and other support services to hundreds of
thousands of families who are struggling to care for
loved ones.

The Long-Term Care Security Act that I signed into law
in September authorizes the Office of Personnel
Management to negotiate with private insurers to offer
more affordable, high-quality, long-term care insurance
policies to Federal employees, retirees, and their
families. This initiative will help some 13 million
Americans better prepare for the future and ease the
fear of having to deplete their life savings to care
for a loved one.

We must also help families who need long-term care
assistance right now. I continue to call on the
Congress to provide a $3,000 tax credit for the
millions of Americans with long-term care needs and the
families who care for them. Passage of a new, voluntary
Medicare prescription drug benefit would also go a long
way toward easing the financial burden on family
caregivers.

Caregiving touches us all, either within our own
families or within our communities. As we observe
National Family Caregivers Month, let us thank the
millions of devoted men and women across our Nation who
enable our loved ones who are frail, chronically ill,
or living with disabilities to live in dignity in the
warmth and familiarity of home.

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 November 2000 as National
Family Caregivers Month. I call upon all Americans to
acknowledge and honor the contributions of caregivers
to the quality of our national life.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.