Home > 1995 Presidential Documents > pd09oc95 Proclamation 6833--National Children's Day, 1995...pd09oc95 Proclamation 6833--National Children's Day, 1995...
are about six times more likely than men to experience violence
committed by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship. And
in 1992, nearly 30 percent of all female homicide victims were known to
have been killed by husbands, former husbands, or boyfriends. We need
more prevention campaigns and public awareness efforts; we must develop
and share successful methods of prevention, intervention, and treatment
for victims and perpetrators; and we must continue to build alliances
among government, community associations, businesses, educators, and
religious organizations to strengthen our families and to teach
alternatives to violent behavior.
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 October
1995, as ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.'' I call upon
government officials, law enforcement agencies, health professionals,
educators, and the people of the United States to join together to end
the family violence that threatens so many citizens. I further encourage
all Americans to recognize the dedication of those working to end the
horrors of abuse. Offering support, guidance, encouragement, and
compassion to survivors, these caring individuals exemplify our Nation's
highest ideals of service and citizenship.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twentieth.
William J. Clinton
[[Page 1755]]
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:59 p.m., October 2,
1995]
Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October
4.
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Monday, October 9, 1995
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
Memorandum on the Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign
October 2, 1995
Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
Subject: Federal Employee Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign
Domestic violence is not a private, family dispute that affects only
the people involved. Domestic violence is violent criminal activity that
affects us all, regardless of race, income, or age, in every community
in this country. It means higher health care costs, increased
absenteeism, and declining productivity. It destroys families,
relationships, and lives. More importantly, it tears at the moral fabric
of who we are and undermines the very institution that has been the
cornerstone of our country: the family.
In passing the Violence Against Women Act as part of the Violent
Crime Control Act (``VCCA'') last year, the Congress recognized the
seriousness of the problem of domestic violence. This new law combines
tough new penalties with programs to prosecute offenders and help women
victims. In the last year, every State has received a down payment of
$426,000 in grants to help train prosecutors, police, and service
providers in combatting the problem of domestic violence. Moreover,
because of the VCCA, every State will now ensure that women who have
been assaulted will not have to pay for their medical examinations
resulting from rape and other acts of violence.
Throughout October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month,
business, labor, law enforcement, public health, and civic organizations
will be working to increase our understanding of this problem and create
solutions that can save lives. I believe the Federal Government has a
responsibility to be a leader in this effort.
Today, I am directing that executive departments and agencies
institute employee awareness campaigns on domestic violence. Within the
next 6 months, you should implement a program to promote Federal
employee awareness of the problem of domestic violence and the programs
and resources that are available for victims. I support and encourage
the initial plans made by the Justice Department, which include the
production of a resource manual and a poster, and the scheduling of a
Violence Against Women Information Fair on October 30, 1995. This fair
will include speakers, artwork, and exhibits.
We have a responsibility to assist all victims of domestic violence
and their families trapped in a cycle of violence with no sense of where
to turn. Often, victims will not report their circumstances to the
public, but they may turn to coworkers for help. Thus, by providing
information to all Federal workers on the programs available, we can
make a contribution to the effort to protect women from abuse and reduce
the level of violence in America.
The Director of the Office Management and Budget is authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
William J. Clinton
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:38 a.m., October 6,
1995]
Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on
October 10.
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Monday, October 9, 1995
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
Statement on House Inaction on Political Reform
October 2, 1995
The American people have made it clear that they want political
reform. It is plain that lobbyists have too much influence in the Halls
of power and that reforms are needed to change the way we finance
campaigns. I believe that a bipartisan consensus exists to enact reform.
By an overwhelming margin, the Senate passed legislation that would
require lobbyists to fully disclose their activities and that ended the
practice of lobbyists giving lawmakers expensive gifts, meals, and
travel.
However, this past weekend, in an abrupt reversal of a previous
commitment, the House Republican leadership announced
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that it would refuse to schedule a vote on lobby reform this year. This
may please Washington's professional lobbyists, but it will only deepen
the American people's cynicism about the way Government works. There can
be no excuse for delay.
This is the starkest indication yet that the new congressional
majority simply is not serious about political reform. But it is not the
first such indication. It is now nearly 4 months since Speaker Gingrich
and I agreed to create a bipartisan commission on political reform. I
have sought in good faith to move forward on this proposal. I asked two
distinguished Americans, John Gardner and Doris Kearns Goodwin, to reach
out to the congressional leadership to make this commission a reality.
Mr. Gardner made repeated attempts to contact the Speaker, but the
Speaker did not even show him the courtesy of a direct reply. In light
of this extraordinary unresponsiveness, Mr. Gardner has indicated that
he does not believe the commission has any chance of success.
We must move forward with rapid action on reform that is bipartisan
and real. Congress should quickly enact lobby reform, gift reform, and
campaign finance reform legislation. In the meantime, I am not waiting.
In my first days in office, I barred senior officials from lobbying
their agencies for 5 years after leaving office and from ever lobbying
for foreign governments. We repealed the tax loophole that let lobbyists
deduct their expenses. We have fought for tough lobby reform and
campaign reform legislation. And now, my administration is moving
forward with an Executive order that will require lobbyists who contact
the executive branch to fully disclose their activities.
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Monday, October 9, 1995
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
Message on the Observance of Yom Kippur
October 2, 1995
Warm greetings to all who are observing the holy day of Yom Kippur.
Jews around the world mark this solemn Day of Atonement with
stringent fasting for the body and careful examination of the soul. Yom
Kippur is a deeply personal holiday, inviting worshippers to confess
transgressions and to make reparation for sins, striving in this way to
reaffirm their bonds with God and to repair and renew human
relationships.
Yom Kippur teaches us all that peace and reconciliation can come
only through committed human effort and humility before God. The
conclusion of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, signed at the
White House September 28, is a shining example of such resolve. Two
peoples, divided for generations by conflict, have now taken another
courageous step toward peace. In this season of renewal, there is more
reason than ever before to hope that one day soon there will be safety
in Israel's house and that the clash of arms will be banished from God's
Holy Land. Let us treasure this lesson in our hearts and work to bring
healing and harmony to our nation and our world.
Best wishes for a meaningful and rewarding holiday.
Bill Clinton
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Monday, October 9, 1995
Volume 31--Number 40
Pages 1749-1788
Week Ending Friday, October 6, 1995
Remarks on Accepting the Report of the Advisory Committee on Human
Radiation Experiments
October 3, 1995
Let me begin with a simple thank you to everyone who participated in
this extraordinary project and to everyone who supported them.
I am especially glad to see here today Senator Glenn, who's been so
active in working on the medical ethics issue, Congressman Markey, who's
worked on this issue for a very long time, Congressman Frost, Secretary
Shalala, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Hershel Gober, and of
course, the Attorney General who basically tries to get us all to do the
right thing all the time. [Laughter]
I want to thank Secretary O'Leary for her extraordinary devotion to
this cause. And you heard in her remarks basically the way that she
views this. It's a part of her ongoing commitment to finish the end of
the cold war. And perhaps no Energy Secretary has ever done as much as
she has to be an advocate, whether it is for continued reforms within
the Energy Department or her outspoken endorsement of the strongest
possible commitment on the part of the United States to
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a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which I believe we will achieve next
year in no small measure thanks to the support of the Secretary of
Energy.
And of course, I want to thank Dr. Ruth Faden for her extraordinary
commitment of about a year and a half of her life to this unusual but
important task. And all of you who served on the Committee--I remember
the first time we put this Committee together. I looked--I said, that's
a pretty distinguished outfit. I wish I could give them five or six jobs
to do. [Laughter] I'll expect you back next Monday and then we'll--
[laughter]. I do thank you so much for the work you have done.
Let me tell you that, just as this is an important part of the
efforts that Secretary O'Leary outlined, I saw this Committee as an
indispensable part of our effort to restore the confidence of the
American people in the integrity of their Government. All of these
political reform issues to me are integrated. When I became the
President, I realized we had great new economic challenges, we had
profound social problems, that a lot of these things had to be done by
an energized American citizenry, but that our National Government had a
role to play in moving our country through this period of transition.
And in order to do it, we needed to increase the capacity of the
Government to do it through political reform, but we also needed, as
much as anything else, to increase the confidence of the American people
that, at the very least, they could trust the United States Government
to tell the truth and to do the right things.
So you have to understand that, for me, one reason this is so
important is that I see it as part of our ongoing effort to give this
Government back to the American people: Senator Glenn's long effort to
get Congress to apply to itself the same laws it imposes on the private
sector; the restrictions that I imposed on members of my administration
in high positions for lobbying for foreign governments; and when the
lobby bill failed in the Congress, I just imposed it by Executive order
on members of the executive branch. All these efforts at political
reform, it seems to me, are important.
But none of these efforts can succeed unless people believe that
they can rely on their Government to tell them the truth and to do the
right thing. We have declassified thousands of Government documents,
files from the Second World War, the cold war, President Kennedy's
assassination. These actions are not only consistent with our national
security, they are essential to advance our values.
So to me, that's what this is all about. And to all those who
represent the families who have been involved in these incidents, let me
say to you, I hope you feel that your Government has kept its commitment
to the American people to tell the truth and to do the right thing.
We discovered soon after I entered office that with the specter of
an atomic war looming like Armageddon far nearer than it does today, the
United States Government actually did carry out on our citizens
experiments involving radiation. That's when I ordered the creation of
this Committee. Dr. Faden and the others did a superb job. They enlisted
many of our Nation's most significant and important medical and
scientific ethicists. They had to determine first whether experiments
conducted or sponsored by our Government between 1944 and 1974 met the
ethical and scientific standards of that time and of our time. And then
they had to see to it that our research today lives up to nothing less
than our highest values and our most deeply held beliefs.
From the beginning, it was obvious to me that this energetic
Committee was prepared to do its part. We declassified thousands of
pages of documents. We gave Committee members the keys to the
Government's doors, file cabinets, and safes. For the last year and a
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