Family Day, 2004
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During this time of great change in our Nation, we remain dedicated to the
fundamental American values of courage and compassion, reverence and integrity,
and respect for others. On Family Day, we affirm our commitment to strengthening
America's families and supporting them as they work to raise healthy and
responsible children.
Strong families help young people take responsibility, understand the
consequences of their actions, and recognize that the decisions they make today
could affect the rest of their lives. By spending time with their children,
parents prepare them to realize a bright future.
It should always be a goal of government to encourage marriage and strengthen
families. My 2005 budget proposal includes more than $290 million in funding for
programs that support healthy marriages, research and demonstration projects on
family formation, and initiatives to promote responsible fatherhood.
We have made significant progress over the past decade in helping our young
people make the right choices. Smoking and illicit drug use have declined among
youth, teen birth rates have fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded, and
violent crime among teenagers has decreased dramatically. My Administration is
also supporting families by encouraging character education in schools to help
children develop a sense of responsibility to their communities. We are
advancing abstinence-only education programs to help reduce the number of teen
pregnancies and teenagers contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and we are
promoting school drug testing to identify kids who need help. When parents,
schools, and government work together, we can counter the negative influences in
today's culture and send a positive message to our youth.
Families instill the essential values we live by. By supporting them, we make
America a better and more hopeful place.
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 laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim September 27, 2004, as Family Day. I call on
the people of the United States to observe this day by engaging in activities
that honor the relationship between parents and children and help keep our young
people healthy and safe.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
