PROCLAMATION 7406—FEB. 7, 2001 115 STAT. 2601 lending practices. In addition, Federal agencies and consumer groups have implemented aggressive education campaigns to help consumers learn how to safeguard the equity in their homes. Consumers can protect themselves from loan fraud by taking some commonsense precautions, including comparison shopping among several lenders, negotiating, and resisting, indeed refusing to yield to, pressure to sign any loan papers they don't understand. Nonprofit credit and housing counseling services are available to help consumers manage their credit and make decisions about loans and loan terms. To help protect consumers, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Department of Justice, and private consumer organizations have joined forces to inform Americans about their rights as borrowers, about the responsibilities of lenders, and about protecting their assets. This information is available in writing, by telephone, and online. I encourage all Americans to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about how to protect themselves against fraudulent and abusive lending practices. By becoming wise and well-informed consumers, we can reduce the incidence of fraud and deception in the marketplace. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 5 through February 10, 2001, as National Consumer Protection Week. I call upon government officials, industry leaders, consumer advocates, the media, and the American people to participate in programs helping citizens to be responsible and wise consumers. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth. GEORGE W. BUSH Proclamation 7406 of February 7, 2001 American Heart Month, 2001 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The year 2001 once seemed so distant that it became a symbol of science fiction. But today, researchers studying heart and other cardiovascular diseases have made 2001 a year when science rivals fiction. Only 50 years ago, Americans were acknowledged to be suffering from an epidemic of heart disease. So little was known about the disease that it was thought part of the normal process of aging. Luck played a larger role in surviving a heart attack or hypertension than did medicine—and those who survived were forced to lead restricted lives.
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