Proclamation 5210 -- National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Day, 1984
June 18, 1984
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Now that school sessions have come to a close and many families are preparing for summer vacations, it is especially appropriate to remind all Americans of the importance of child passenger safety. Children who are not buckled into child safety seats or safety belts are subject to great risks of serious injury in motor vehicle accidents because their less developed bodies afford them little protection.
It is a tragic fact that motor vehicle collisions are the primary cause of death and crippling injuries for children in the United States. From 1978 through 1982, nearly 3,400 children under five years old were killed in motor vehicle collisions, and more than 230,000 others were seriously injured. All Americans must do their best to reduce these senseless tragedies.
Fortunately, in the last few months, much has been done to protect young children travelling by car. We know that the proper use of child safety seats reduces the risk of death by up to 90 percent and can prevent up to 67 percent of all injuries. Through the voluntary efforts of many individuals and citizens groups, 47 States and the District of Columbia have recently enacted mandatory child restraint laws. Unfortunately, surveys show that only 40 percent of children under five years old are being protected by child safety seats and that 70 percent of the seats are not being used properly. In order to emphasize the importance of correct installation and use of child safety seats, many private and public organizations alike are initiating educational programs to achieve that end. For example, the National Automobile Dealers Association, the National Child Passenger Safety Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics are currently sponsoring child safety clinics throughout the Nation to check on and demonstrate the correct use and installation of child restraint systems.
It is particularly vital for parents to understand the special risk which their children face as motor vehicle passengers and to educate their children about the importance of child safety seats each time they ride in the car. As adults, we all should remember that our own use of safety belts in our car can be a particularly good lesson for our children.
To emphasize the combined efforts of government and private sector organizations to promote child passenger safety throughout our Nation, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 289, has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating June 18, 1984, as ``National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Day.''
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 18, 1984, as National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this occasion by participating in appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities to educate motor vehicle drivers about the tragic consequences of neglecting the safety of our children when they travel by automobile.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:23 p.m., June 18, 1984]
Proclamation 5211 -- Federal Credit Union Week, 1984
June 18, 1984
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934 which enabled credit unions to be organized throughout the United States under charters approved by the Federal government.
Credit unions are uniquely democratic economic organizations, founded on the principle that persons of good character and modest means, joining together in cooperative spirit and action, can promote thrift, create a source of credit for productive purposes, and build a better standard of living for themselves. Because credit unions exemplify the traditional American values of thrift, self-help and voluntarism, they have carved a special place for themselves among the Nation's financial institutions.
Today, Federal credit unions are at their strongest point in history. They enter this, their 50th anniversary year, as the Nation's fastest-growing financial institutions. As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions operate with the credo, ``Not for profit, not for charity -- but for service.'' Credit unions have maintained allegiance to this ideal and as a result have consistently reflected the philosophical tradition and the cooperative spirit of people helping people that prompted passage of the Federal Credit Union Act.
The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 139, has designated the week beginning June 24, 1984 as ``Federal Credit Union Week'' and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation calling for the observance of this occasion.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning June 24, 1984, as Federal Credit Union Week. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:24 p.m., June 18, 1984]
Proclamation 5212 -- Harmon Killebrew Day, 1984
June 18, 1984
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On August 12, 1984, Harmon Killebrew will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. As a seventeen-year-old, Harmon Killebrew signed with the late Washington Senators and played with that franchise in the Nation's Capital and after its transfer to Minnesota. In an illustrious career, he hit 573 home runs, second only to Babe Ruth among all players in American League history. Harmon Killebrew was a member of the American League All-Star team on eleven occasions, and in 1969, he hit 49 home runs and batted in 140 runs and was named the American League's Most Valuable Player.
In honoring Harmon Killebrew, we recognize the accomplishments of the other baseball immortals enshrined in Cooperstown and the many contributions the sport has made to American culture and myth. Harmon Killebrew is the latest in a lengthy list of players who, in the words of Justice Harry Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court, "have sparked the diamond and its environs and that have provided tinder for recaptured thrills, for reminiscence and comparisons, and for conversation and anticipation . . . and all other happenings, habits, and superstitions about and around baseball that have made it the `national pastime' or, depending upon the point of view, `the great American tragedy'.''
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 285, has designated June 13, 1984, as "Harmon Killebrew Day'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 13, 1984, as Harmon Killebrew Day, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:31 a.m., June 20, 1984]