Proclamation 5542.

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100 STAT. 4502 Proclamation 5542 of October 8, 1986 American Liver Foundation National Liver Awareness Month, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Liver diseases claim 50,000 lives in the United States each year and are the fourth leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 15 and 65. There are more than 100 liver disorders. Some of these are progressively debilitating and often fatal. Liver diseases strike infants, children, adolescents, and adults, regardless of sex, race, or economic status.

Unfortunately, people with liver disease suffer not only physically from the disease, but also emotionally from the unjust stigma placed on them by the common, but mistaken, notion that liver disease is caused only by alcoholism. Through the American Liver Foundation, a network of volunteers, families, researchers, and health care professionals throughout the United States has dedicated itself to funding and increasing research to find the causes, treatments, cures, and ways to prevent these devastating diseases.

The American Liver Foundation, the only national organization to focus on all types of liver disease, is committed to promoting the health of all Americans by increasing public awareness of all conditions that can lead to liver disease and by supporting and enhancing the quality of life for those individuals and their families who must cope with a liver disease. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 202, has designated the month of October 1986 as “American Liver Foundation National Liver Awareness Month” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1986 as American Liver Foundation National Liver Awareness Month. I urge the people of the United States and educational, philanthropic, scientific, medical, and health care organizations and professionals to learn more about the liver, to support appropriate efforts to discover the causes and cures of all types of liver disease, and to aid those who suffer from the crushing physical, psychological, and financial burden of a liver disease.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. RONALD REAGAN 5543 October 8, 1986 National Down Syndrome Month, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5543 of October 8, 1986 National Down Syndrome Month, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Down Syndrome is the most common genetic birth defect associated with mental handicap.

Approximately one in 800 babies is born with Down Syndrome. 100 STAT. 4503 Over the last decade, Americans have become more aware of the accomplishments and the potential of developmentally disabled people, particularly those with Down Syndrome, thanks to the efforts of concerned physicians, teachers, and parents’ groups such as the National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society. As a result, we have programs to educate new parents of babies with Down Syndrome, special education classes within mainstreamed programs in schools, vocational training for competitive employment in the work force, and preparation for young adults with Down Syndrome for independent living in the community.

Paralleling these improvements in educational opportunities are advances in medical treatment that are enhancing the outlook for those bom with this condition. In addition, the public is showing increased acceptance of people with Down Syndrome. We must continue our efforts to dispel myths about Down Syndrome and the degree to which it is disabling. Because we live, regrettably, in an age when some people no longer value every human life regardless of condition, we must be vigilant in recalling that “all men are created equal” and that people with Down Syndrome have the same rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that we all do.

We have a duty to see that they receive all the help they need, before birth, in the nursery, and throughout life. Our heritage as Americans bids us do no less. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 321, has designated the month of October 1986 as “National Down Syndrome Month” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1986 as National Down Syndrome Month.

I invite all concerned citizens, agencies, and organizations to unite during October with appropriate observances and activities directed toward assisting affected individuals and their families to enjoy to the fullest the blessings of life. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. RONALD REAGAN 5544 October 8, 1986 National Spina Bifida Month, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5544 of October 8, 1986 National Spina Bifida Month, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Spina bifida strikes one to two of every one thousand babies born in the United States.

It is the most common crippier of newborns. When this disease occurs, the baby’s spinal cord forms abnormally and the arches of the vertebrae, the bones that surround the cord, fail to develop. The spinal cord or its protective tissue may be displaced outside the spinal canal. Nerves supplying the legs, bladder, and bowel are incompletely developed or damaged. 100 STAT. 4504 The nerve damage resulting from this disease can have devastating consequences. including muscle paralysis, loss of sensation in the skin, and spine and limb deformities.

Most babies with spina bifida also develop hydrocephalus—a potentially dangerous buildup of fluid pressure within the brain. But thanks to important advances in neurosurgery and antibiotic therapy, a baby born with spina bifida today has between an 80 and 95 percent chance for survival. And the development of new surgical and bracing procedures and devices to compensate for lost function have made it possible for patients to lead more active and normal lives. Research now under way in the Nation’s scientific laboratories is aimed at improving our understanding the cause of this disease and developing methods to prevent it.

Much of this work is being done by scientists supported by the Federal government’s National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Voluntary agencies like the Spina Bifida Association of America, the National Easter Seal Society, and the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation also promote vital research and provide essential services and encouragement to families. In the work of these agencies, and that of the researchers and clinicians they sponsor, lies the hope that we will one day conquer spina bifida.

To enhance public awareness of the problem of spina bifida, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 368, has designated the month of October 1986 as “National Spina Bifida Month” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1986 as National Spina Bifida Month, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate observances and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of Oct., in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. RONALD REAGAN 5545 October 8, 1986 National Job Skills Week, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5545 of October 8, 1986 National Job Skills Week, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The economy of the United States, in the midst of one of the longest sustained periods of growth since World War II, is creating a record number of new jobs.

More Americans are at work now than ever before. Technological advances in all areas of American industry are contributing not only to the growth in the number of jobs, but to sustained growth in productivity. The dynamic changes occurring in our own marketplace as well as in the global economy will place an even greater emphasis on the development of new job skills. One of America’s greatest competitive assets is the high quality and productivity of its work force. It is appropriate, therefore, that Americans have 100 STAT. 4505come to understand the changes that are underway in the workplace and the demands these developments are generating for new skills.

In order to focus national attention on the role of job training efforts in maintaining a competitive work force, the Congress adopted House Joint Resolution 721 designating the week of October 12 through October 18, 1986, as “National Job Skills Week.” NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of October 12 through October 18, 1986, as National Job Skills Week, and I urge all Americans and interested groups to observe this week with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. RONALD REAGAN 5546 October 8, 1986 National School Lunch Week, 1986 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5546 of October 8, 1986 National School Lunch Week, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Since 1946, the National School Lunch Program has made it possible for our Nation’s children to enjoy nutritious, well-balanced, low-cost lunches.

Now in its 40th year, this Program stands as a remarkable example of a successful partnership between Federal and State governments and local communities to make food and technical assistance available in an effort to provide a more nutritious diet for students. The National School Lunch Program demonstrates our commitment to the promotion of the health and well-being of our youth. Under its auspices, more than 23 million lunches are served daily in nearly 90.000 schools throughout our country.

The success of this effort is largely due to resourceful and creative food service managers and staff working in cooperation with government personnel, parents, teachers, and members of civic groups. By joint resolution approved October 9, 1962, the Congress designated the week beginning on the second Sunday of October in each year as “National School Lunch Week” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 12, 1986, as National School Lunch Week, and I call upon all Americans to give special and deserved recognition to those people at the State and local level who, through their dedicated and innovative efforts, have made it possible to have a successful school lunch program.