PROCLAMATION 6934—OCT. 9, 1996 111 STAT. 2777 As a Nation, we must continue our commitment to eliminating violence and to strengthening children and families. To that end, we have launched initiatives to encourage the use of school uniforms, the adoption of curfews, and the intensification of anti-truancy programs. And we have also expanded the drug-free school program to include anticrime efforts as well, enhancing the overall safety of our schools. America's future rests with healthy children and strong families. All across this land—within our homes and health care settings; our churches and communities; our schools and child care centers; our legislatures and halls of justice; our factories, shops, and offices—we are all charged with the responsibility to safeguard our legacy by protecting and nurturing the bodies, minds, and spirits of our children. To emphasize the significance of fostering children's healthy development, the Congress, by joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 143), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 7, 1996, as Child Health Day. On that day and every day throughout the year, I urge all Americans to renew and deepen their commitment to protecting our most precious natural resource—our children. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of October, 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 twenty-first. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6934 of October 9, 1996 '- >^ Leif Erikson Day, 1996 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Leif Erikson Day commemorates the life and the voyages of the great Nordic explorer who first set foot on the fertile soil of North America about one thousand years ago. On this day, we also celebrate the close bonds of friendship between the people of the United States and the Nordic peoples, as well as the outstanding contributions that Nordic Americans have made to our country. We have good cause to mark this day. The pioneering spirit that Leif Erikson and his followers demonstrated embodies the virtues of independence, self-determination, and initiative that are firmly rooted in our national consciousness today. As a vital transatlantic bridge between the continents of America and Europe, the Nordic countries of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have repeatedly shown a bedrock commitment to the democratic values that contributed greatly to the formation of our own national ideals. Just as our forebears persevered through what sometimes seemed insurmountable odds to transform adversity into prosperity, we have contin-
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