PROCLAMATION 6204—OCT. 12, 1990 104 STAT. 5421 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Expanding upon the goals of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, this legislation is the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality for persons with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers covered by the act from discriminating against qualified applicants or employees on the basis of a disability; it guarantees persons with disabilities access to public accommodations, such as offices, hotels, and shopping centers; and it calls for improved access to transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications as well. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 reaffirms our national commitment to providing persons with disabilities equal opportunities to participate in the social and economic life of our country. During this year's observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we not only celebrate the enactment of this legislation, but also recognize the many contributions that persons with disabilities have made, and continue to make, in the Nation's workplace. The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved August 11, 1945, as amended (36 U.S.C. 155), has called for the designation of the month of October of each year as "National Disability Employment Awareness Month." This special month is a time for all Americans to join together in recognizing the unlimited potential of persons with disabilities and in renewing our determination to provide equal employment opportunities for them. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1990 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. I call upon the people of the United States to continue working to guarantee for Americans with disabilities equal employment opportunities and the full rights and privileges of citizenship. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth. GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 6204 of October 12, 1990 National Forest Products Week, 1990 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Ever since the first American colonists described for their contemporaries in Europe the splendor of the New World, this country's forests have been recognized around the globe for their majestic beauty. However, our forests have also been an invaluable resource, one that has played a singularly important role in the building of our Nation. Centuries ago, our forests provided Native Americans and European settlers with a variety of foods and raw materials for shelter, tools, and fuel. As the Nation expanded westward, they provided the timbers neces-
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