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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 12, 1995

                  NATIONAL DEFENSE TRANSPORTATION DAY
                 AND NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION WEEK, 1995
                                    
                             - - - - - - -
                                    
            BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                                    
                             A PROCLAMATION

We Americans enjoy the benefits of the finest transportation system in the world. Our Nation has built a wide network of airports and seaports, railroads and bridges, highways, waterways, and subways. This infrastructure is a mainstay of our economy, an essential part of our national defense, and the means by which our citizens enjoy unprecedented mobility. Such ease of travel unites our land, brings cities and communities closer together, and links our society to the world.

Recent international trade agreements have dramatically changed the global marketplace, creating new opportunities and expanding horizons for all Americans. Our success in this increasingly competitive environment depends as never before on transportation. A system that moves people and goods safely and efficiently helps us to sell our products overseas, spawning new industries and generating jobs at an unprecedented rate.

The national transportation system, with government and industry working together, is a keystone of America's national security strategy. The world is still an unpredictable place, and America continues to have worldwide security and economic interests. The national transportation system gives America the capability to rapidly move military equipment and personnel to meet contingencies, crises, and humanitarian efforts anywhere in the world.

Today, American transportation is moving forward to embrace the exciting possibilities and challenges of the 21st century. Using state-of-the-art technology, we are developing a single integrated system that links all forms of transportation and enables the user -- passenger or shipper -- to choose the service that best meets the immediate need. The Department of Transportation is working on a National Transportation System to address modern concerns of efficiency and environmental safety, and we are looking toward States, communities, and the private sector to join in investing strategically in the transportation infrastructure of the future.

This week, Americans honor the men and women who build, maintain, and monitor the safety of our transportation system -- from air traffic controllers to railroad safety inspectors to aerospace machinists building the planes of tomorrow. We salute our transportation industry workers for their countless contributions to our Nation and for helping to ensure that our transportation system remains the finest in the world.

In recognition of the millions of Americans who work every day to meet our transportation needs, the Congress, by joint resolution approved May 16, 1957 (36 U.S.C. 160), has designated the third Friday in May of each year as "National Defense Transportation Day" and, by joint resolution approved May 14, 1962 (36 U.S.C. 166), declared that the week in which that Friday falls be designated "National Transportation Week."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, May 19, 1995, as National Defense Transportation Day and May 14 through May 20, 1995, as National Transportation Week. I urge all Americans to observe these occasions with appropriate ceremonies and activities, giving due recognition to the individuals and organizations that build, operate, safeguard, and maintain this country's modern transportation system.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of May, 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 nineteenth.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

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