110 STAT. 4544 PROCLAMATION 6908-^ULY 1, 1996 ductions in feed grain supplies and severe hardship to livestock producers; NOW, THEREFORE, I. WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and section 813 of the Agricultural Act of 1970 (7 U.S.C. 1427a) (the "Act"), do hereby find and proclaim that the extended drought in the Southwest and other natural disasters in other feed grain areas of the United States have resulted in a state of emergency and that the state of emergency warrants the release of the reserve established pursuant to section 813(a) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 1427a(a)). Accordingly, I hereby declare that such amounts of the reserve as determined necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture ("the Secretary") should be disposed of by the Secretary as authorized by the Act. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentieth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6908 of July 1, 1996 A National Month of Unity, 1996 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Our Nation was founded by people who sought the right to worship freely, and religious liberty is enshrined in our Constitution as the "first freedom" granted by our Bill of Rights. The United States is now the most multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy in history, and we must preserve this precious freedom while making the most of our diversity. Ours is a great and noble struggle to make our national voice a chorus of unity—varied by differing intonations, but carried and lifted by a rich harmony. The recent rash of arson attacks against black churches and other houses of worship is a stark reminder that our work to build common ground is far from over and that our progress can be threatened by forces that tear at the very fabric of our society. It is hard to think of a more heinous act than the destruction of a sacred structure. The violence that charred and defaced these buildings challenges our fundamental right to worship in safety, and has left us grim emblems of the hatred and alienation that too often darken our daily experience. And so we must look into our hearts as America approaches the new century, pledging to devote our energies to reinvigorating the shared values that will enable us to embrace the future together. We must never go back to the terrible days of racial and ethnic division, nor can we afford to dismiss our problems by ascribing them to isolated groups or areas of the country. Instead, let us join hands to lighten our burdens and build bridges among people and communities so that we can
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