Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Presidential Documents 25151

Proclamation 7092 of May 4, 1998

Older Americans Month, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In just over a decade from now, the first of America’s 77 million baby

boomers will celebrate their 65th birthdays. Fortunately, visionary programs

like Social Security, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act will help

to make life easier for them as they reach this milestone.

For more than 60 years, Social Security has provided our older citizens

with a measure of economic security. For more than 30 years, Medicare

has given them access to quality health care and the latest in medical

advances. And older Americans in need of greater assistance have been

able to look to programs under the Older Americans Act for the critical

home and community-based care services that have enabled millions of

elderly men and women to live independently. Together, these farsighted

measures have played a major role in dramatically reducing the poverty

rate and extending the longevity of older Americans, allowing our citizens

to grow old with dignity and peace of mind.

This year’s Older Americans Month celebration centers around the theme

‘‘Living Longer; Growing Stronger in America.’’ As we enter a new century

and address the challenges of an aging America, we must commit ourselves

to the health and welfare of our older Americans and to protecting and

strengthening Medicare and Social Security. One of the most important

achievements of the Balanced Budget Act that I signed last summer was

its unprecedented reform of the Medicare program. This bipartisan effort

extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for a decade, includes new

health plan choices, and adds coverage of preventive benefits. The legislation

also established the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare to, among other things, review and analyze the financial condition

of Medicare so that it remains as strong for our children as it has been

for our parents.

We must respond with equal resolve to the increasing strains on the Social

Security system. Now that we have succeeded in dramatically reducing

the Federal budget deficit, I have called on the Congress to reserve all

of the anticipated budget surplus until we have a comprehensive plan to

strengthen Social Security for the 21st century. We are holding a series

of regional conferences throughout the year to engage in a national discussion

on the future of Social Security, both to raise awareness of the problem

and to allow all Americans to contribute their ideas for a solution. At

the end of the year, I will host a bipartisan White House Conference on

Social Security to summarize the lessons we learn from this dialogue and

to map out an effective strategy that will enable us to ensure that Social

Security will be there for future generations of Americans.

During Older Americans Month—and throughout the year—I encourage all

Americans to pay tribute to our older citizens and to follow their example

by planning for the future. As individuals, we should take care of our

health through proper diet, exercise, and appropriate preventive care, and

we should plan for our future financial security by participating in retirement

and savings programs. As families and communities, we can help older

Americans to remain active and independent members of our communities.
25152 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Presidential Documents

And as a Nation, we must recognize our obligation to those who will

come after us by preserving and strengthening Medicare and Social Security

for the 21st century and beyond.

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 May 1998 as Older

Americans Month. I call upon Government officials, businesses, communities,

educators, volunteers, and all the people of the United States to acknowledge

the contributions older Americans have made, and continue to make, to

the life of our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day

of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred

[FR Doc. 98–12219

Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

and twenty-second.

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