Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 3.djvu/546

 113 STAT. 2064 PROCLAMATION 7179—APR. 7, 1999 My Administration is committed to promoting effective policies and innovative programs to protect children from harm and to mitigate the stresses on families that can ignite violence in the home. We have implemented a comprehensive agenda that includes increased funding at the State level to ensure that maternal and child health programs are expanded to include child protection, family preservation, and support; we have released prevention grants for community-based family services in all 50 States; and we have worked with the Congress to pass the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the National Child Protection Act of 1993, all of which support child abuse prevention efforts in State and local jurisdictions. Yet government programs alone cannot prevent child abuse. As a society that cares about the health and well-being of our children, we must forge caring, cooperative alliances that include goveriunent as a partner, but also involve schools, community organizations, businesses, religious groups, and especially parents and family members themselves—^indeed, everyone who has a stake in the futiu-e of American families. During this special month, as we focus oxu" Nation's attention on the disturbing problem of child abuse, let us remember that behind every heartbreaking statistic is a child whose health, happiness, and future depend on our ability to recognize the signs of abuse and our refusal to tolerate abuse in ovu- homes and commmiities. 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 April 1999 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by demonstrating our gratitude to those who work to keep our children safe, and by taking action in our own communities to make them healthier places in which children can grow and thrive. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hxuidjed and ninety-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7179 of April 7, 1999 National Equal Pay Day, 1999 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation We live in a time of remarkable promise. Oiu" Nation's economy is the strongest we have experienced in a generation, creating more than 18 million new jobs since 1993 and the fastest growth in real wages in more than two decades. American women have contributed greatly to this record of success; unfortunately, they have not enjoyed an equal share in the prosperity they have helped to create. The typical woman who works full-time year-round earns approximately 75 cents for every dollar the typical man earns. An African

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