Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 5.djvu/1048

 112 STAT. 3806 PROCLAMATION 7128—SEPT. 29, 1998 American people to display the flag and to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, places of worship, or other suitable places, as a public expression of the sympathy and the respect that our Nation holds for its Gold Star Mothers. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth 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 Proclamation 7128 of September 29, 1998 National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Today America is enjoying great prosperity, with the prospect of an even brighter futiu-e in the 21st centmy. Our economy is the strongest it has been in a generation. We have created more than 16 million new jobs in the past 5 years, and we are witnessing the lowest inflation rate in three decades, the lowest unemployment rate in 28 years, and the smallest welfare rolls in 29 years. But we cannot consider ourselves truly successful until all Americans, including the 30 million workingage adults with disabilities, have access to the tools and opportiuiities they need to achieve economic independence. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is making it possible for millions of Americans to participate more fully in our society. However, 8 years after the ADA's passage, the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is still far too high. Almost 75 percent of working-age Americans with severe disabilities remain unemployed. If America is to live up to its promise of equal opportunity, and if our economy is to continue to strengthen and expand, we must be able to draw on the untapped energy, talents, and creativity of this large and capable segment of our population. Last March, I issued an Executive order to establish the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities and begin to break down the remaining barriers for people with disabilities. I charged the Task Force with creating a coordinated and aggressive national strategy to make equality of opportunity, full participation, inclusion, and economic self-sufficiency a reality for all working-age Americans with disabilities. I have also directed the Attorney General, the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportiuiity Commission, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to increase public awareness of rights and responsibilities under the ADA. It is particularly important to reach out in this effort to the small business community, because it employs most of our Nation's private work force. Employment is the best path to economic security and to personal and professional fulfillment. I salute disability community leaders, business and labor leaders, government officials, community organizations, and concerned citizens who are working together to remove the remaining

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