103 STAT. 3058 PROCLAMATION 5996—JULY 6, 1989 Tragically, however, millions of Americans suffer from illiteracy. These individuals do not have the basic skills they need to function effective- ly in school, in the workplace, and in other daily activities. The impact of illiteracy is evident in our prisons and juvenile facilities, in unem- ployment and welfare lines, as well as among school dropouts and stu- dents at risk because their families cannot support their efforts to learn. We also witness the effects of illiteracy on businesses that have difficulty finding skilled and productive workers. America is confronting the need for greater literacy. Innovative pro- grams have been launched not only by Federal, State, and local govern- ment, but also by hundreds of businesses and corporations, the media, religious groups, and community organizations. Hundreds of thousands of professional educators and concerned volunteers are joining together nationwide to help their neighbors learn to read. To recognize these ongoing efforts and to encourage even greater com- mitment to the fight against illiteracy, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 96, has designated July 2, 1989, as "National Literacy Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim July 2, 1989, as National Literacy Day. I call upon the people of the United States, government officials, educa- tors, and volunteers to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies ( and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two him- dred and thirteenth. '^" • GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 5996 of July 6, 1989 Captive Nations Week, 1989 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Each July, we Americans celebrate our Nation's independence and the blessings of self-government. As we give thanks for the rights and free- doms that citizens of this Nation have enjoyed for more than 200 years, we also recall our obligation to speak out for oppressed peoples around the world. We thus pause diuing Captive Nations Week to remember in a special way those peoples who suffer from foreign domination and from ideologies that are inimical to the ideas of national sovereignty and individual liberty. Today, the leaders of the Soviet Union and other Communist govern- ments are discovering that the voices of those who long for freedom and self-determination cannot be silenced. Around the world, men and women in captive nations are calling for recognition of their basic
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