Proclamation 5397 -- National Hospice Month, 1985
October 28, 1985
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Hospices play an important role in our national medical care system. Terminally ill hospice patients receive expert medical care while they and their families can develop essential emotional and spiritual support.
Hospices have shown their ability to provide appropriate, competent, and compassionate care. Under the hospice concept, each program has a team of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, psychological and spiritual counselors, and community volunteers -- all trained to assist the terminally ill. The team works together to care for patients and their families, especially helping them to cope with their pain and grief.
Hospices are rapidly becoming full partners in our health care system. In November 1983, hospice care benefits became available to people under Medicare. Many private insurance carriers and employers have also recognized the value of hospice care and included hospice benefits in their health care plans.
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 155, has designated the month of November 1985 as ``National Hospice Month'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the month of November 1985 as National Hospice Month, and I direct the appropriate government officials, all citizens, and interested organizations and associations to observe this month with activities that recognize this important event.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 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, 3:09 p.m., October 28, 1985]
Proclamation 5398 -- National Farm-City Week, 1985
October 28, 1985
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
American farmers are the most productive in the world. But without farm machinery, fuel, electric power, chemical products, and other supplies from industry, our farms could never have achieved this remarkable level of efficiency.
American consumers have the widest variety and the most plentiful supply of food and fiber products that can be found anywhere. But without adequate transportation, processing, and marketing, our consumers could not reap the full benefits of our bounteous farms, orchards, and ranches.
It is the successful synergism of farms, towns, cities, industry, and business that makes the United States a cornucopia for its own citizens, able to share its superabundance with a world where large regions suffer from critical shortages of food, often because of policies that discourage initiative and thwart progress.
To arrive at a better appreciation of how our American system works -- with its cooperation between farm workers and city workers -- we set aside in each November a Farm-City Week. During this time we seek to highlight the contributions that farmers and city dwellers, working together, make to the bounty, vitality, and strength of our Nation.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning November 22, 1985, through November 28, 1985, as National Farm-City Week. I call upon all Americans, in rural areas and in cities alike, to join in recognizing the accomplishments of our productive farmers and of our urban residents in working together in a spirit of cooperation and interdependence to create abundance, wealth, and strength for the Nation.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 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, 3:10 p.m., October 28, 1985]
Proclamation 5399 -- National Family Week, 1985
October 28, 1985
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
America's families are America's greatest strength. Just as American society is more than the sum of its parts, families are more than just collections of individuals.
It is within the family that we first gain an understanding of who we are; that we learn to give and receive love; that we learn to respect the individuality of others; that we grow to be strong, healthy adults able to take our place in the larger families of community, country, and the world. Through the family we pass on our traditions, our rituals, and our values. From our families we receive the love, encouragement, and education needed to meet life's challenges. Family life also provides a stimulus for the spiritual growth that fosters probity of character, generosity of spirit, and responsible citizenship.
It is important that we dedicate ourselves to the promotion of strong families for, with their strength, commitment, and loyalty, they form the hearth and heart of our national life. As an eminent American educator has wisely observed: ``The security and elevation of the family and of family life are the prime objects of civilization, and the ultimate ends of all industry.'' Special concern is due to troubled families, for we recognize that any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. At their best, strong families are small communities of love. Let us help them prosper.
National Family Week gives us a chance to honor all families and especially to honor those Americans who have extended the love and support of their families to a child through adoption or foster care. By giving the shelter of their loving arms to such a child on a temporary or permanent basis, these Americans demonstrate in a special way the unconditional love that only families can provide.
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 31, has designated the week of November 24 through 30, 1985, as ``National Family Week'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of November 24 through November 30, 1985, as National Family Week. I invite the Governors of the several states, the chief officials of local governments, the leaders in industry, and all Americans to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving Week, I also invite all Americans to give thanks for the many blessings that they have derived from their family relationships and to reflect upon the importance of maintaining strong families.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 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, 3:11 p.m., October 28, 1985]
Proclamation 5400 -- Centennial Year of Liberty in the United States
October 28, 1985
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
She remains a Wonder of the World -- an uncanny fusion of art and engineering. She is the result of a unique collaboration between two freedom-loving Frenchmen with a profound affection for America: a great sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, and the greatest structural engineer of his time, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Next year she will be 100 years old.
Nineteen hundred and eighty-six marks the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Originally called ``Liberty Enlightening the World,'' the Statue was a generous gift from the people of France to the people of the United States. It represents the close and cordial relationship that traditionally has existed between our countries and our common devotion to freedom and democracy.
She rises majestically 151 feet above the magnificent base designed by Richard M. Hunt, the preeminent American architect. But she is much more than her awesome dimensions and her physical splendor. For millions of anxious immigrants, the forebears of countless millions of today's Americans, she was the first glimpse of America. She was assurance of journey's end, safe harbor reached at last, and the beginning of a new adventure in a free and blessed land. For them she was a dream come true, the Lady with the Lamp, a warm welcome to a new world and a new life.
The gifted American poet, Emma Lazarus, hailing her as the ``New Colossus,'' put the message of the Statue of Liberty in unforgettable words:
Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp,
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me.
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.
Since its dedication on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty has held high the beacon of freedom, hope, and opportunity to welcome millions of immigrants and visitors from foreign lands. From that time she has been one of the proudest symbols of the American ideal of liberty and justice for all.
Today, the Statue of Liberty and nearby Ellis Island are being restored from the ravages of time and weather by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Centennial Foundation, Inc.
The United States will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the Statue of Liberty through commemorative events scheduled to take place during the Fourth of July Weekend in 1986 and on October 28, 1986.
In recognition of the importance of the Statue of Liberty to the American people, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 407, has designated the twelve-month period ending on October 28, 1986, as the ``Centennial Year of Liberty in the United States'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the twelve-month period ending on October 28, 1986, as the Centennial Year of Liberty in the United States, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe this year with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 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, 10:40 a.m., October 29, 1985]
Proclamation 5401 -- National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month, 1985
October 28, 1985
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the sudden and unexpected death of apparently healthy babies, is the major cause of death of infants between the ages of one month and one year. Between 5,000 and 6,000 babies die of SIDS annually in the United States. Most die unobserved in their sleep. Despite two decades of aggressive biomedical and behavioral research, supported in large part by the Federal government, the exact cause of SIDS remains elusive. From what we have learned through research, choking, neglect, infection, and heredity have been ruled out as probable causes, and today the syndrome is attributed to a combination of subtle physiological deficiencies in the infant.
The parents and families of SIDS victims frequently experience intense and traumatic grief, often accompanied by unwarranted feelings of guilt that can result in psychosocial and even physical problems. It is extremely important that the facts about SIDS be widely disseminated and understood in order to banish myths and misconceptions. By working together, parents, schools, private and voluntary organizations, and government at all levels can bring about a greater public understanding of this tragic syndrome.
The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 322, has designated the month of October 1985, as ``National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1985, as National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 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, 11:05 a.m., October 29, 1985]