Proclamation 5774

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

This year marks the 75th year of service to our Nation by the United States Department of Commerce; three-quarters of a century ago, on March 4, 1913, the Department was established in its current form. Its mission of fostering, promoting, and developing the domestic and foreign commerce of the United States has ever since remained both vital and truly worthy of public recognition.

Throughout this century the Department of Commerce has helped Presidents and the Congress develop policies to support our economic growth, our scientific and technological advancement and security, and our international trade. The Department provides business and government planners with critical data they need for intelligent decision-making, urges inventors and entrepreneurs to bring products to the marketplace, encourages firms to seek legitimate export opportunities, and makes sure that fair trade laws are enforced vigorously. The Department of Commerce also supplies oceanic information and formulates telecommunications and information policy.

The employees of the Department of Commerce have always reflected the finest traditions of public service. That was surely true of the Department's late Secretary, Malcolm Baldrige, and our present Secretary, C. William Verity, Jr.

In recognition of the contributions of the Department of Commerce and the dedication of its officers and employees, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 251, has designated March 4, 1988, as "Department of Commerce Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that day.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 4, 1988, as Department of Commerce Day, and I urge the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:18 a.m., March 4, 1988]