[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 25 (Monday, June 27, 1994)]
[Pages 1323-1324]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6703--50th Anniversary of the GI Bill of Rights

June 21, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fifty years ago, on June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
signed into law The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944--``The GI Bill 
of Rights''--described by many historians as America's greatest single 
piece of social legislation from that time period. President Roosevelt 
said that the passage of the GI Bill gave ``emphatic notice to the men 
and women of our Armed Forces that the American people do not intend to 
let them down.''
    That promise to meet the needs of a highly trained and motivated 
military was well kept by the original GI Bill and has been renewed and 
revised with each succeeding generation of veterans. Today, those 
guarantees of assistance--from education to home purchase, from job 
training to medical treatment--are part of every veteran's expectations. 
They extend beyond active duty service personnel, to include reservists 
and surviving spouses, as well.
    The GI Bill has made life better for all Americans. As it eased the 
transition of millions of World War II veterans into civilian life, it 
paved the way for an unparalleled period of U.S. economic growth and 
development, while reaffirming the vital importance of our Nation's 
Armed Forces.
    GI Bill home loan provisions underwrote the largest housing boom in 
our country's history. Now, most Americans may reasonably look forward 
to owning their own homes at some time during their lives.
    GI Bill educational benefits spurred nearly 8 million World War II 
veterans on to higher education. It transformed the Nation's education 
infrastructure and made college education and technical training 
realistic options after high school for those who may otherwise not have 
been able to afford these advantages.
    This half-century investment of more than $65 billion has been 
repaid to the American taxpayer time and time again. The Nation has been 
enhanced by the increased earning power and expanded economic activity 
directly attributable to the GI Bill. It is gratifying to note that our 
veterans have utilized these benefits to the fullest extent. Their 
energy, initiative, and ability have allowed them to make the most of 
this enduring promise. As they gave their best to the Nation while they 
were in uniform, they also gave us their best as civilians with the help 
of the GI Bill.
    It is to them and to the pioneers who created and crafted the 
original GI Bill legislation during the dark days of World War II, that 
we as a Nation owe our heartfelt grati- 

[[Page 1324]]

tude this day. This measure opened the door to the American dream of 
opportunity for advancement to an entire generation of young Americans.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 22, 
1994, as ``GI Bill of Rights Day'' celebrating the 50th anniversary of 
enactment of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 and the 
subsequent legislation that has extended its promise. I encourage all 
Americans, as well as civic, veterans, educational, business, and news 
media organizations, to join me in honoring this true American success 
story and those veterans and visionaries who made it possible.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first 
day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:32 a.m., June 22, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on June 22, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
June 23.