Proclamation 5375 -- Child Health Day, 1985

October 4, 1985

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year, we mark the golden anniversary of the landmark maternal and child health legislation, Title V of the Social Security Act. Under that authority, the Federal government has sponsored a wide variety of training, demonstration, research, and related special activities that have made a great contribution to our effectiveness in providing health care to American mothers and their children.

Even more important, I believe, is the fact that for 50 years we have provided assistance to the States through formula grants and, more recently, through the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant. Through this approach, States have matched Federal funds and have assumed full responsibility for program administration. We can all take pride in this relationship that has supported a wide range of vital preventive and therapeutic services for mothers and infants and children and adolescents, including highly sophisticated help to children with special needs, such as those with handicaps and chronic illness. We can take pride in the services provided and, especially, in the way they are provided, for the nature, scope, location, and timing of these services are determined as they should be -- at the State and community levels, and by the medical professionals at the scene. These are the people who know firsthand what the greatest needs are and how best to respond to them.

On this Child Health Day, 1985, as we celebrate 50 years of cooperative endeavor in support of maternal and child health, we should rededicate ourselves to the expansion of State and local responsibility in this extremely important field. We must do everything necessary to protect the health of our mothers and children. We must remember that the best way to do this is to entrust the responsibilities and the needed resources to the States and communities in which they live.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, pursuant to a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 143), do hereby proclaim Monday, October 7, 1985, as Child Health Day.

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

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:59 a.m., October 7, 1985]

Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 5.

Proclamation 5376 -- Columbus Day, 1985

October 4, 1985

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

We are privileged each year to pay honor to the great explorer whose epic voyages of discovery led to the development of the Western Hemisphere. Christopher Columbus won an imperishable place in history and in the hearts of all Americans by challenging the unknown and defying the doubters. In doing so he set in motion a chain of events which transformed the world and led to the birth of the great country in which we live.

Columbus' achievement lies not only in his daring navigational exploits but also in the practical outgrowth of his efforts. More than a great seaman, he was a man of vision who could see the opportunities that lay beyond the horizon. Indeed, the results of his quest were far grander than he could have envisioned. Those who followed in the path he had opened built a new world whose economic, political, and social development have been marvels of human energy and ingenuity. People from across the globe have come to America to find freedom, justice, and economic opportunity.

Columbus exemplified a spirit which still inspires all Americans -- a spirit of reaching out, expanding the frontiers of knowledge, a spirit of undaunted hope. In the words of Joaquin Miller, ``He gained a world; he gave that world its grandest lesson: `On! Sail On!''' Like Columbus, we Americans are ready to take risks in pursuit of our goals. We understand that boundless opportunities await those who dare to strive.

Our tribute to Columbus has special meaning to Americans of Italian descent. This son of Genoa was the first of many great Italian travelers to the New World. Millions of his countrymen would later settle in the new land, adding their precious contribution to the developments that stemmed from Columbus' voyages. Columbus was the first link in a chain which today binds the United States to Italy in a special relationship.

This remembrance is also particularly important for those of Spanish descent. Columbus' achievement depended on the vision and energy of a newly united Spain. This was only the first of Spain's many cultural and economic contributions to the New World. We share with our Spanish-speaking neighbors this heritage and our debt of gratitude to Spain.

In the coming years this commemoration of the voyage of 1492 will take on heightened significance, because we are approaching the 500th anniversary of that great event. The Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission, a distinguished group of Americans assisted by representatives from Spain and Italy, will plan, encourage, and carry forward the commemoration of Columbus' great voyages of discovery. The Committee held its initial meeting on September 12, and will report within two years its recommendations for observance of the celebration.

In tribute to Columbus' achievement, the Congress of the United States, by joint resolution approved April 30, 1934 (48 Stat. 657), as modified by the Act of June 28, 1968 (82 Stat. 250), has requested the President to proclaim the second Monday in October of each year as Columbus Day.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 14, as Columbus Day. I invite the people of this Nation to observe that day in schools, churches, and other suitable places with appropriate ceremonies in honor of this great explorer. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of Christopher Columbus.

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

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11 a.m., October 7, 1985]

Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 5.

Proclamation 5377 -- Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants by Officers or Employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba

October 4, 1985

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In light of the current state of relations between the United States and Cuba, including the May 20, 1985, statement that the Government of Cuba, had decided ``to suspend all types of procedures regarding the execution'' of the December 14, 1984, immigration agreement between the United States and Cuba, thereby disrupting normal migration procedures between the two countries, I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to impose certain restrictions on entry into the United States of officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), having found that the unrestricted entry of officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba into the United States would, except as provided in Section 2, be detrimental to the interests of the United States, do proclaim that:

Section 1. Entry of the following classes of Cuban nationals as nonimmigrants is hereby suspended: (a) officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba holding diplomatic or official passports; and (b) individuals who, notwithstanding the type of passport that they hold, are considered by the Secretary of State or his designee to be officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba.

Sec. 2. The suspension of entry as nonimmigrants set forth in Section 1 shall not apply to officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba: (a) entering for the exclusive purpose of conducting official business at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington; at the Cuban Mission to the United Nations in New York; or at the United Nations in New York when, in the judgment of the Secretary of State or his designee, entry for such purpose is required by the United Nations Headquarters Agreement; (b) in the case of experts on a mission of the United Nations and in the case of individuals coming to the United States on official United Nations business as representatives of nongovernmental organizations when, in the judgment of the Secretary of State or his designee, entry for such purpose is required by the United Nations Headquarters Agreement; or (c) in such other cases or categories of cases as may be designated from time to time by the Secretary of State or his designee.

Sec. 3. This Proclamation shall be effective immediately.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of Oct., in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:19 p.m., October 8, 1985]

Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 8.

 

Date
10/04/1985