Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/3654

123STA T . 3 6 3 4PROCL A M AT I O N8 36 7— APR. 3 0, 200 9latery ear sof l i fe , t h e retire m e n t that many w omen ha v e wor k e d so hard for — and have earned—is not p ossi b le .T his problem is parti cu- larly dire for women who are sin g le and the sole supporters of their families. W omen should not and need not endure these conse q uences. M y A dministration is working to advance pay equity in the U nited S tates. The first bill I signed into law as P resident, the L illy Ledbetter F air Pay Act of 20 0 9 , allows more women to challenge pay discrimina- tion by e x tending the timeline within which complaints can be filed. This law advances the struggle for equal pay, but it is only an initial step. To continue this progress, I issued an E xecutive O rder estab- lishing the White H ouse C ouncil on Women and G irls. This high-level body, composed of Cabinet members and heads of sub-Cabinet agen- cies, is charged with advancing the rights and needs of women, includ- ing equal pay. Still, Government can only advance this issue so far. The collective ac- tion of businesses, community organi z ations, and individuals is nec- essary to ensure that every woman receives j ust treatment and com- pensation. We Americans must come together to ensure equal pay for both women and men by reminding ourselves of the basic principles that underlie our N ation ’ s strength and unity, understanding the un- necessary sacrifices that pay inequity causes, and recalling the count- less women leaders who have proven what women can achieve. NOW, THE R EFORE, I, B ARAC K OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Con- stitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2 8 , 2009, as National Equal Pay D ay. I call upon American men and women, and all employers, to acknowledge the injustice of wage dis- crimination and to commit themselves to equal pay for equal work. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty- eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. BARACK OBAMA Proclam a ti o n8367 o fAp ril 3 0,2 00 9LawD a y,U.S . A ., 20 0 9BythePr e sid e n t of the U nited S t a tes of Am eri c a A Proc l amation In 1 9 5 8, President Eisenhower established Law Day as ‘ ‘a day of na- tional dedication to the principles of government under law.’’ Each year on Law Day, we celebrate our commitment to the rule of law. That great commitment is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and has been reaffirmed by the words and deeds of great Americans throughout our Nation’s history. This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of one such Amer- ican, President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln rose from humble begin- nings to guide our Nation through the most turbulent period in its his- tory. His dedication to the rule of law and to equality under the law,