Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/3653

 123STA T . 3 6 33 PROCL A M AT I O N8 366 — APR. 28 , 2 0 0 9il i es s af e r.Byut ili z i ngcom mon - sense an dp ro v en met h ods ,w e can b oth reduce crime and serve crime victims. NOW , THER E F ORE, I ,B A RA CK OBA M A, P resident of the U nited S tates of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Con- stitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 26 through May 2, 2 0 0 9, as National Crime V ictims ’ Rights Wee k . Icall upon all Americans to observe this week by participating in events that raise awareness of victims’ rights and services and by volunteering to serve victims in their time of need. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty- fourth day of April, in the year of our L ord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. BARACK OBAMA Proclam a ti o n836 6o fAp ril 2 8, 2 0 0 9Nation a lEqu al P a yD ay ,20 0 9BythePr e sid e n t of the U nited S t a tes of Am eri c a A Proc l amation Harriet Beecher Stowe helped galvanize the abolitionist movement with her groundbreaking literature. Frances Perkins advised President Franklin D elano Roosevelt and led the Department of Labor during one of its most challenging periods in history. Barbara McClintock helped unlock the mysteries of genetics and earned a Nobel Prize. These and countless other women have broken barriers and changed the course of our history, allowing women and men who followed them the op- portunity to reach greater heights. Despite these achievements, 4 6 years since the passage of the E q ual Pay Act and 2 3 3 years since our Nation was established with the prin- ciple of equal j ustice under law, women across America continue to e x perience discrimination in the form of pay inequity every day. Women in the United States earn only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns, and today marks the inauspicious occasion when a woman’s earnings finally catch up with a man’s from the previous year. On Na- tional Equal Pay Day, we underscore the importance of this issue to all Americans. If we wish to honor our Nation’s highest ideals, we must end wage dis- crimination. The Founders established a timeless framework of rights for the American people. G eneration after generation has worked and sacrificed so that this framework might be applied equally to all Amer- icans. To honor these Americans and stay true to our founding ideals, we must carry forward this tradition and breathe life into these prin- ciples by supporting equal pay for men and women. Wage discrimination has a tangible and negative impact on women and families. When women receive less than their deserved compensation, they take home less for themselves and their loved ones. Utilities and groceries are more difficult to afford. Mortgages and rent bills are hard- er to pay. Children’s higher education is less financially feasible. In