Family Day, 2004

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Part IV

The President

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Proclamation 7820--Family Day, 2004

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7820 of September 24, 2004

Family Day, 2004

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During this time of great change in our Nation, we
remain dedicated to the fundamental American values of
courage and compassion, reverence and integrity, and
respect for others. On Family Day, we affirm our
commitment to strengthening America's families and
supporting them as they work to raise healthy and
responsible children.

Strong families help young people take responsibility,
understand the consequences of their actions, and
recognize that the decisions they make today could
affect the rest of their lives. By spending time with
their children, parents prepare them to realize a
bright future.

It should always be a goal of government to encourage
marriage and strengthen families. My 2005 budget
proposal includes more than $290 million in funding for
programs that support healthy marriages, research and
demonstration projects on family formation, and
initiatives to promote responsible fatherhood.

We have made significant progress over the past decade
in helping our young people make the right choices.
Smoking and illicit drug use have declined among youth,
teen birth rates have fallen to the lowest levels ever
recorded, and violent crime among teenagers has
decreased dramatically. My Administration is also
supporting families by encouraging character education
in schools to help children develop a sense of
responsibility to their communities. We are advancing
abstinence-only education programs to help reduce the
number of teen pregnancies and teenagers contracting
sexually transmitted diseases, and we are promoting
school drug testing to identify kids who need help.
When parents, schools, and government work together, we
can counter the negative influences in today's culture
and send a positive message to our youth.

Families instill the essential values we live by. By
supporting them, we make America a better and more
hopeful place.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 27, 2004, as
Family Day. I call on the people of the United States
to observe this day by engaging in activities that
honor the relationship between parents and children and
help keep our young people healthy and safe.

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

(Presidential Sig.)B