Proclamation 7121.
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112 STAT. 3796 Proclamation 7121 of September 15, 1998 National Hispanic Heritage Month, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The presence of Hispanics on this continent predates the founding of our Nation, and, as among the first to settle in the New World, Hispanics and their descendants have had a profound and lasting influence on American history, values, and culture. Since the arrival of the earliest Spanish settlers more than 400 years ago, millions of Hispanic men and women have come to the United States from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba and other Caribbean regions, Central America, South America, and Spain, in search of peace, freedom, and a more prosperous future.
They brought with them a deep commitment to family and community, a strong work ethic, and an unwavering belief in the American Dream. In a Nation that derives so much of its strength from many cultures and races, Hispanic Americans are a thriving force in our society and a vital part of our economy. For example, businesses started and operated by Hispanic women constitute one of the fastest-growing categories of small business in the United States today. This entrepreneurial spirit has contributed to the strongest U.S. economy in a generation.
As we approach the 21st century and face the challenges of a global economy, we recognize that the success of our Nation is closely tied to the success of our citizens of Hispanic heritage, who are a large and increasing segment of our population. My Administration is committed to ensuring that Hispanic Americans have the opportunities they need to realize their dreams of a better life. The key to those dreams is education. We must continue to reach out to Hispanic youth, encouraging them to stay in school, graduate from high school, and go on to college so that they can compete successfully for good jobs and take advantage of promising career opportunities.
As part of these efforts, my Administration is committed to ensuring that our $600 million Hispanic Education Action Plan is fully funded. This initiative will provide the investments needed to help Hispanic students master basic skills and become proficient in English. It will also assist schools in implementing reforms to reduce dropout rates, enable adults to receive basic skills training and participate in English-as-a- second-language programs, and offer assistance to colleges and universities that serve large numbers of Hispanic students.
This month, as we remember with special gratitude the gifts that Hispanic Americans bring to every aspect of our national life, let us reaffirm our efforts to ensure that all Hispanic American families have the tools and opportunities they need to make the most of their lives. Working together, we can meet the challenges of the 21st century in a way that will celebrate our differences and unite us around our common values. To honor Hispanic Americans for their many contributions to our Nation and our culture, the Congress, by Public Law 100–402, has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation des-112 STAT. 3797 ignating September 15 through October 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month.
” NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 15 through October 15, 1998, as National Hispanic Heritage Month. I call upon all government officials, educators, and the people of the United States to honor this observance with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of September, 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-third.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7122 September 15, 1998 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, 1998 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 7122 of September 15, 1998 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Education has always been at the heart of opportunity in America. That has never been more true than today, when a revolution in technology is fundamentally changing the way we live and work and learn.
In this new era of dynamic challenge and possibility, we recognize that the best opportunities for personal and professional success will go to those who are well educated. Our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play a vital role in helping to extend access to a quality education. Established before and just after the Civil War to educate free black students, these institutions have been African Americans’ primary route—and for many the only route—to higher education.
Struggling to exist in a segregated society, striving to keep tuition affordable despite limited financial resources, these schools nonetheless upheld their mission of academic excellence and equal opportunity. Even after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that ended legal segregation of America’s public schools, the need for HBCUs did not disappear. These schools continue to provide young African Americans and other students with a nurturing and affirming environment. Today, America’s 105 HBCUs are educating almost 300,000 African Americans, and they count among their graduates the majority of our Nation’s African American military officers, physicians, Federal judges, elected officials, and business executives.
The distinguished faculty members at HBCUs serve as role models and mentors, challenging students to reach their full potential and to refuse to set limits on their dreams. HBCUs are a source of great pride and a symbol of economic, social, and political growth. As our Nation grows increasingly diverse in race, culture, and ethnic background, these institutions are a valuable source of knowledge about the history and heritage of African Americans, serving as keepers of significant archives and centers for the study of African Americans’112 STAT. 3798 many contributions to the life of our Nation.
Most important, these schools continue to champion the cause of equal access to education. With a notable past, a dynamic present, and a promising future, America’s HBCUs are helping to prepare our Nation’s young people for the challenges and opportunities of the new millennium. 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 September 20 through September 26, 1998, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
I call upon the people of the United States, including government officials, educators, and administrators, to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities honoring America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their graduates. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of September, 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-third.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7123 September 16, 1998 Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 1998 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 7123 of September 16, 1998 Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Two hundred eleven years ago, on September 17, 1787, our Nation’s Founders signed the Constitution that established our system of government. This extraordinary document, the product of passionate debate and grudging compromise, was crafted by a handful of individuals in the late 18th century; yet it has safely charted America’s course through more than two centuries of enormous change and growth and has served as the model for democratic governments around the globe.
The United States Constitution has endured in large part because of its remarkable fairness and flexibility. It created an inspired balance of powers and responsibilities among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and among the Federal Government, the States, and individual citizens. It also provided for a system of amendment that allows our democracy to correct past errors and omissions and to respond to new challenges. As we mark this anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, we celebrate the effort, the dedication, and the wisdom of our Founders and the blessings of liberty that resulted from their labors.
We also celebrate those who have struggled to move America closer to fulfilling the first and fundamental purpose expressed in the Constitution: “. . . to form a more perfect Union.” Among these heroes were the thousands who fought and died during the Civil War to keep our Nation united and to banish slavery from our land. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is the fruit of their sacrifice: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States.
” The courageous women and men who met at Seneca Falls, New York,112 STAT. 3799 150 years ago also set the highest standards of citizenship. Recognizing that women, too, are entitled to share in America’s promise of equality, they began a crusade that resulted in the ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Likewise, we honor American citizens of our century, black and white, who worked together, faced danger together, and sometimes died together in the struggle to end racial injustice in our society and move our Nation closer to the constitutional ideal of equality under the law.
The 24th Amendment, guaranteeing all citizens the right to vote, reflects their spirit and commitment to true democracy. As we seek to form a more perfect union at home, we also bear the responsibilities of citizenship in our world community. Throughout our history, we have sought to secure the blessings of liberty not only for ourselves, but for all people everywhere. We remember the Americans who fought two world wars against tyranny and oppression and who triumphed in the Cold War through faith in the promise of democracy.
These men and women cared so intensely about our Nation and their fellow human beings that they were willing to forego their own comfort and sometimes even to sacrifice their own lives for the ideal of freedom envisioned by our Founders. In commemoration of the signing of the Constitution and in recognition of the importance of active, responsible citizenship in preserving the Constitution’s blessings for our Nation, the Congress, by joint resolution of February 29, 1952 (36 U.S.C. 153), designated September 17 as “Citizenship Day,” and by joint resolution of August 2,1956 (36 U.S.C. 159), requested that the President proclaim the week beginning September 17 and ending September 23 of each year as “Constitution Week.
” NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 17, 1998, as Citizenship Day and September 17 through September 23, 1998, as Constitution Week. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials, as well as leaders of civic, educational, and religious organizations, to conduct meaningful ceremonies and programs in our schools, houses of worship, and other community centers to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the Constitution and the rights and duties of citizenship.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of September, 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-third. WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7124 September 17, 1998 National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 1998 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 7124 of September 17, 1998 National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation For more than two centuries, America has been blessed by the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces.
Often leav-112 STAT. 3800ing home and family, they have fought to preserve our freedom, protect our national interests, and advance American values and ideals around the globe. These valiant heroes have risked—and many have lost—their lives in service to our Nation and for the well-being of their fellow Americans. Each year, on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we acknowledge with special gratitude and profound respect those who paid for our freedom with their own, and we remember with deep sorrow those whose fate has never been resolved.
Americans who were held as prisoners of war throughout our history endured the indignities and brutality of captivity without surrendering their devotion to duty, honor, and country. With steadfast hearts and indomitable spirit, these patriots never gave up on America because they knew that America, and the American people, would never give up on them. In the same way, we will never give up on our efforts to obtain the fullest possible accounting of every American missing in service to our country.
We reaffirm our pledge to their families to search unceasingly for information about those missing and to seek the repatriation of those who have died and whose remains have not been recovered. By doing so we keep faith with our men and women in the Armed Forces and with the families who have suffered the anguish of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. On September 18, 1998, the flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners of War and Missing in Southeast Asia, a black and white banner symbolizing America’s missing and our fierce determination to account for them, will be flown over the White House, the U.S.
Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System Headquarters, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, national cemeteries, and other locations across our country. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 18, 1998, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I ask all Americans to join me in honoring former American prisoners of war and those whose fate is still undetermined.
I also encourage the American people to remember with compassion and concern the courageous families who persevere in their quest to know the fate of their missing loved ones. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of September, 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-third. WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7125 September 18, 1998 To Modify Certain Provisions of the Special Textile and Apparel Regime Implemented Under the North American Free Trade Agreement Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
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- Pub. L. 100-402
- 36 USC 153
- 36 USC 159
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Proclamation 7121
Pub. L.Pub. L. 100-402
Cite36 USC 153
Cite36 USC 159
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