Proclamation 5811 --
National Defense Transportation Day and National Transportation Week, 1988
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
Transportation
is essential to American life. Our safe, fast, economical, and convenient
movement of people and goods is the cornerstone of our country's social and
economic welfare and of our national defense. Now, as in the past, our
transportation systems -- highways, airports, inland waterways, railroads and
public transit, our merchant fleet and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway
-- provide a superior emergency response network and are available as a
critical component of our national defense. As our citizens travel in record
numbers for business or pleasure, our local, State, and Federal governments
continue to work with the transportation industry to enhance transportation
safety.
The
growth of our Nation and the development of transportation have been
intertwined throughout our history. Those who first explored this vast country
were followed by pioneers who established settlements. Most of the road routes,
river systems, and ocean ports used by our earliest settlers are still in use
today. Many of our great cities originated as towns that were starting or end
points for transportation systems. As trade and commerce grew, transportation
provided the necessary link to vital resources that in turn enabled further
national growth. On land and water, in the air, and in space, our
transportation systems have become an essential element of our Nation's
economic health, providing indispensable services and generating employment for
millions of people.
This
week we acknowledge the contributions of the dedicated people who build,
maintain, and safeguard our transportation systems -- from the flagman on a
highway project to the space engineer. We honor those who led the way in the
development and improvement of ships, waterways, motor vehicles, highways,
trains, airplanes, and our newest transportation vehicles, spacecraft. The
recent announcement of our National Space Policy means that we continue to call
for the help of modern-day pioneers on the frontiers of space technology. With
public and private cooperation, our Nation is building a highway to space that
will serve as an economic bridge to the 21st century.
In
recognition of the importance of transportation and of the millions of
Americans who serve and supply our transportation needs, the Congress has
requested, by joint resolution approved May 16, 1957 (36 U.S.C. 160), that the
third Friday in May of each year be designated as ``National Defense
Transportation Day''; and by joint resolution approved May 14, 1962 (36 U.S.C.
166), that the week in which that Friday falls be proclaimed ``National
Transportation Week.''
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of May, in the year
of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,