/ 112 STAT. 3766 PROCLAMATION 7105—JUNE 12, 1998 ministration's economic strategy to reduce the deficit, invest in our people, and open foreign markets has led to lower mortgage rates, more jobs, and higher family incomes. Thanks to the success of our strategy and the efforts of the National Partners in Homeownership, we now have the highest homeownership rate in America's history. Our Nation's commitment to homeownership has brought us extraordinary rewards, invigorating the construction and related industries, creating new jobs, and enhancing our prosperity. The next generation of American homes will also improve our environment. The new partnership I recently launched with America's building industry—^the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing—will dramatically improve the energy efficiency of new homes, reducing the greenhouse gases that cause global warming and cutting homeowners' energy bills. Most important, homeownership has encouraged millions of Americans to save and invest, to take pride in their neighborhoods, and to take an active, responsible role in the life of their communities. 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 7 through June 13, 1998, as National Homeownership Week. I urge all Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the rewards of homeownership. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-second. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7105 of June 12, 1998 Flag Day and National Flag Week, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Our country has undergone enormous change since the Continental Congress first adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official Flag of the United States of America in 1777. The new country that struggled for 7 long years to win independence from Great Britain is today the most powerful Nation on EarUi. The 13 original colonies huddled close to the Atlantic coast of North America have grown into 50 States, stretching across the continent to the Pacific coast and beyond. From a population of less than 3 million, we have grown to more than 269 million people whose differences in race, religion, cultural traditions, and ethnic backgroimd have made us one of the most diverse countries in the world. Throughout these two centuries of remarkable growth and change, the Stars and Stripes has remained the proud symbol of our fundamental unity. Across the generations, our flag has united Americans in the quest for freedom and peace. Our soldiers first followed it into battle at Brandywine in 1777, and today our Armed Forces carry it on peacekeeping and humanitarian missions around the globe. The American
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