Proclamation 7347.
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114 STAT. 3373 Proclamation 7347 of September 29, 2000 National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These two landmark civil rights laws have opened the doors of opportunity for people with disabilities and increased our awareness of the enormous contributions that Americans with disabilities can make to our national life.
A decade ago, when we were debating the Americans with Disabilities Act, critics said that making workplaces, public transportation, public facilities, and telecommunications more accessible would be too costly and burdensome. But they have been proved wrong. Since passage of the ADA in 1990, more than a million men and women with disabilities have entered the labor force and, as taxpayers, consumers, and workers, they are contributing to a period of unprecedented prosperity and record employment in our country.
Throughout my Administration, we have worked hard to break down the barriers that people with disabilities continue to face on a daily basis. In 1998, I signed the Workforce Investment Act, requiring that information technology purchased by the Federal Government be accessible to people with disabilities. In 1999, I was proud to sign the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, which enables Americans with disabilities to retain their Medicare or Medicaid coverage when they go to work, because no one should have to choose between health care and a job.
We are also dramatically expanding the income students with disabilities can earn while retaining access to disability benefits; and to lead by example, we are hiring more people with disabilities throughout the Federal Government. Today's revolution in information and communications technology offers us powerful new tools to expand employment and training opportunities for people with disabilities. Whether translating web pages aloud for people who are blind or visually impaired, creating captioning for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, or enabling people with physical disabilities to control a computer through eye movement and brain waves, these technologies show enormous potential for increasing access to employment and full participation in society.
We are exploring ways that Medicare and Medicaid can be enhanced to cover the cost of assistive technology so that people can live and work more independently in the communities of their choosing. And I was pleased to announce on September 21 that dozens of corporate leaders from the technology sector and the presidents of many of America's leading research universities have pledged to make their products and services accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. A new generation of young people with disabilities is growing up in America today—graduating from high school, going to college, and preparing to participate fully in the workplace.
They have a right to make the most of their potential, and our Nation must make the most of their intellect, talents, and abilities. By working together to break down barriers for Americans with disabilities, we will keep our economy grow- 114 STAT. 3374ing, make a lasting investment in the future of our country, and uphold our fundamental commitment to justice and equality for all our people. To recognize the enormous potential of individuals with disabilities and to encourage all Americans to work toward their full integration into the workforce, the Congress, by joint resolution approved August 11, 1945, as amended (36 U.S.C. 121), has designated October of each year as “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
” NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 2000 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. I call upon Government officials. educators, labor leaders, employers, and the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities that reaffirm our determination to fulfill the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7348 September 29, 2000 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 7348 of September 29, 2000 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Domestic violence transcends all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic boundaries. Its perpetrators abuse their victims both physically and mentally, and the effects of their attacks are far-reaching—weakening the very core of our communities.
Domestic violence is particularly devastating because it so often occurs in the privacy of the home, which is meant to be a place of shelter and security. During the month of October, all Americans should contemplate the scars that domestic violence leaves on our society and what each of us can do to prevent it. Because domestic violence usually takes place in private, many Americans may not realize how widespread it is. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice, each year in the United States approximately 1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted by their current or former husbands, partners, or boyfriends.
Many of these women are victimized more than once over the course of a year. As unsettling as these statistics are, it is also disturbing to realize that the children of battered women frequently witness these attacks, thus becoming victims themselves. My Administration has worked hard to reduce domestic violence in our Nation and to assist victims and their families. The cornerstone of our efforts has been the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which the Congress passed with bipartisan support in 1994 and which I signed into law as part of our comprehensive crime control bill.
This 114 STAT. 3375important piece of legislation, which contains a broad array of groundbreaking measures to combat violence against women, combines tough penalties with programs to prosecute offenders and provide assistance to women who are survivors of violence. In the 6 years since I signed VAWA into law, the legislation has provided more than $1.6 billion to support prosecutors, law enforcement officials, courts, victim advocates, and intervention efforts. We have quadrupled funding for battered women’s shelters, created the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and supported community outreach and prevention programs, children’s counseling, and child protection services, The Department of Justice has awarded more than 900 discretionary grants and 280 STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Violence Against Women formula grants to help State, tribal, and local governments and community-based organizations establish specialized domestic violence and sexual assault units, train personnel, enforce laws, develop policies, assist victims of violence, and hold abusers accountable.
These VAWA programs are making a difference across the country. A recent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that the number of women experiencing violence at the hands of an intimate partner declined 21 percent from 1993 to 1998. I call on the Congress to reauthorize and strengthen VAWA so that we may continue to build on the progress we have made in combating domestic violence in our Nation. Through VAWA and other initiatives and programs, we are striving to create a responsive legal system in American communities that not only prevents domestic violence and sexual assault, but also ensures that every victim has immediate access to helpful information and emergency assistance.
By taking strong public action against this crime, we are creating a society that promotes strong values, fosters a safe, loving home environment for every family, and refuses to tolerate domestic violence in any form. 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 October 2000 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I call upon government officials, law enforcement agencies, health professionals, educators, community leaders, and the American people to join together to end the domestic violence that threatens so many of our people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON 7349 September 29, 2000 Child Health Day, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
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