Proclamation 6807

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Throughout the more than two hundred years since our Nation was founded, Americans have embraced the dream of homeownership. Strengthening families, establishing communities, and fostering prosperity, homeownership is the cornerstone of our economy and a common thread in our national life. Thanks to a tradition of cooperation between government and industry, the doors of homeownership have been opened to millions of Americans. And the United States is one of the first countries in the world to make homeownership a reality for a majority of its people.

For the better part of this century, America has made homeownership a priority of national policy. The National Housing Act of 1934 created the Federal Housing Administration's home mortgage insurance program, empowering more than 23 million Americans to buy their own homes. In 1944, the GI Bill of Rights set up the Veterans Administration's home loan guaranty program, enabling millions of veterans to start a new life for themselves and their families. The Housing Act of 1949 declared that every American family should enjoy a "decent home and a suitable living environment"-an ideal that has been reaffirmed in myriad ways since then.

Our country's long-standing commitment to this goal is a testament to the tremendous rewards of homeownership. Homeownership spurs the production and sales of goods and services, generating new jobs and brightening America's economic horizon. It encourages savings and investment, promotes economic and civic responsibility, and enhances the financial security of the American people. Perhaps most important, homeownership gives Americans pride in their neighborhoods and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

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 June 5, 1995, as "National Homeownership Day." I urge all of our citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the great American Dream.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:33 a.m., June 5, 1995]