Rally-1253 Eureka College, scholarship fundraising National Fraternal Congress of America, National Security Agency, new facilities Orr, Kay, rally in Omaha, NE-1258 Supreme Court of the U.S., swearing-in ceremony for William Rehnquist as Chief Justice and Antonin Scalia as Associate Tax Reform Action Coalition, meeting-1246 United Nations General Assembly, 41st Session, U.S. defense policies supporters, briefing-1241 Appointments and Nominations Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Board of Foreign Scholarships, members-1245 Communications Satellite Corporation, Board Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Board of Federal Election Commission, member-1280 International North Pacific Fisheries Commission, U.S. Section, Commissioners- Interstate Commission on the Potomac River National Advisory Council on Adult Education, National Council on Educational Research, National Institute of Building Sciences, Board National Science Foundation, National Science Northern Mariana Islands Commission on Presidential emergency board No. 212 to investigate rail labor disputes, Chairman and Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, Mendes-Silva, Paulette, relief, message—1270 Budget deferrals, message-1277 Railroad Retirement Board report, message— South Africa, economic sanctions under the U.S. national emergency, message-1262 Communications to Federal Agencies Executive Orders American Business Women's Day-1241 Emergency Medical Services Week-1240 National Historically Black Colleges Week— National School-Age Child Care Awareness Veterans Day-1246 Radio Addresses Tax reform-1231 Statements by the President Conference on Confidence and Security Statements Other Than Presidential Mutual and balanced force reduction Tax reform, action by the House of Acts approved by the President-1286 Checklist of White House press releases—1285 Week Ending Friday, September 26, 1986 Tax Reform Radio Address to the Nation. September 20, 1986 My fellow Americans: It's autumn in Washington, and as children here and around the country return to school, Congress has returned to complete its work-most importantly, the final passage of our historic tax reform bill. We've come a long way from that day nearly a year-and-a-half ago when I asked Congress to take up the task of reforming our tax code, making it fairer and simpler and putting it on the side of families and growth, rather than on the side of special interests. You may remember what the Washington pundits said at the time. We heard that there was no way that a simple and fair tax bill could survive the beating it would get as it ran the gauntlet of Washington lobbyists and insiders. Even as late as last April, we were told in the press that tax reform was dead. Well, there's one thing about Washington: There are always plenty of people around to tell you why something can't be done. But what those people always forget is that there's a force in our nation more powerful than all the lobbyists and insiders put together. And that force is the people-you, your neighbors and friends, and people like you across America. And so, because of you and your support, in the last few months we've seen develop in Congress a broad, bipartisan backing for tax reform. And now, thanks to the leadership of Senator Bob Packwood and Congressman Dan Rostenkowski,1 the Senate and House are preparing to vote on the final bill. Passage of that bill will mean that for most of you taxes will come down. 1 Bob Packwood is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Dan Rostenkowski is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. But even as I'm speaking to you, the special interests are launching their last-ditch offensive. You're going to be hearing a lot from them in the next few days. So, before they get started, let's just set the record straight. First, let's be clear about what tax reform means to you and your family. One of our important goals in tax reform has been making the tax system better for American families. Well, if you're like 80 percent of Americans, enactment of this bill will mean that your top tax rate will be no more than 15 percent. Your standard deduction will go way up and your personal exemption will almost double to a full $2,000 by 1989. And no one's income will be taxed more than 28 percent. All this means that if yours is like the typical family, when everything is added up, you'll end up with $500 to $800 more a year. Not bad for starters. And tax reform means even more to lower income Americans. This bill is perhaps the greatest antipoverty program in history. It will take 6 million poor people off the income tax rolls entirely. But what will it do for the economy as a whole? The short answer is: more jobs-2 to 3 million more in the next decade, according to the Treasury Department. The first reason for that is you. You'll have more money, and whether you spend it or invest it, you'll be helping to create more jobs. But that's not all. We're taking the shelter out of tax shelters. No longer will there be fancy schemes and fast angles that produce nothing but tax breaks. Lawyers, accountants, and businessmen will spend more time looking at the reality of supply and demand and less time exploring the never-never land of the tax code. They'll be looking for investments that create real products, real income, and real jobs. I've said all along that the final tax reform bill had to keep the incentives for American industry to invest in jobs and the future. And that's what this Senate-House tax reform bill does. It keeps the most im portant incentives for business investment that we won in 1981-our tax bill. And while making sure every business pays a fair-share minimum tax, it brings down the overall corporate tax rate to 34 percent. The other industrial countries of the world know what this means. In almost every one, voices are now saying that the new American tax system will make U.S. businesses more competitive and that maybe they'd better get busy and lower their own tax rates, or lose out to us. Five-and-a-half years ago, all of us began a long journey to restoring America's strength and greatness. We brought down. inflation from some of the highest levels in our history to where it is today, the lowest level in over 20 years. Then we cut tax rates and saw the beginning of the strongest economic growth in 33 years. Since the recovery began we've created more new jobs than Europe and Japan combined. Today we have a greater percentage of our people employed than ever before in our history, and never before have so many Americans held jobs. Tax reform will help us continue that growth. I hope you will support our effort to defeat the special interests and win one for the hard-working taxpayers of this country. If your Congressmen and Senators cast their votes for America's future and enact the Senate-House tax reform bill, we can do just that. Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you. Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. from Camp David, MD. National Historically Black Colleges Week, 1986 Proclamation 5528. September 20, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The year 1986 marks the centennial of the Statue of Liberty, recognized throughout the world as a symbol of the United States of America and its promise of liberty and justice for all. Our Nation has been greatly favored by the presence here of peoples from many lands and races and cultures. Each group has made a unique contribution to the rich fabric of American society. Our Nation's historically Black colleges and universities have played a special role in America's growth and development. These institutions have a proud heritage and tradition of providing opportunities for individuals to develop to their fullest potential and to utilize their talents to the utmost for the benefit of our society. For more than one hundred twenty-five years, historically Black colleges and universities have helped students, many from underprivileged backgrounds, to obtain the advantage of a higher education. Today, as in the past, the majority of our Nation's black citizens in the fields of medicine, law, engineering, business, education, and the military have received their degrees from these institutions. To acknowledge the many contributions and successes of these historically Black colleges and universities, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 357, has designated the week of September 15 through September 21, 1986, as "National Historically Black Colleges Week" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this commemoration. Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, PresiIdent of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of September 15 through September 21, 1986, as National Historically Black Colleges Week. I urge all Americans to express our respect and admiration for the outstanding academic and social accomplishments of our Nation's Black institutions of higher education. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. Ronald Reagan [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:45 p.m., September 23, 1986] The social context in which American children live is changing rapidly as the traditional balance between work and family life is being realigned. More mothers with children are entering the work force. Twothirds of all mothers with school-age children are now working; three-fourths of our single parents are in the labor force. To increase awareness throughout the country of the growing need for school-age child care and to reaffirm America's commitment to our children's well-being, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 60, has designated the week beginning September 15, 1986, as "National School-Age Child Care Awareness Week" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event. Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning September 15, 1986, as National School-Age Child Care Awareness Week. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. Ronald Reagan [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:46 p.m., September 23, 1986] Note: The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on September 22. Ethnic American Day, 1986 Proclamation 5530. September 20, 1986 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Americans are a unique people, a colorful tapestry of traditions and cultures woven into one vibrant society. The motto graven on our coins-E Pluribus Unum-reflects the rich diversity from which America draws its strength and vitality. to Since the founding of our Republic more than 200 years ago, millions of immigrants have made the journey of freedom to our shores. America has drawn the stoutest hearts from every corner of the globe, from every Nation on earth. Some came escape the chains of religious persecution, others to flee the bonds of political oppression, and still others came seeking a land of opportunity, the chance to begin life anew. Some of the most recent have scaled walls and crawled under barbed wire and through mine fields, while others risked their lives in makeshift boats on perilous seas. No matter how they came, today they are all Americans who take pride in the traditions of their ancestral homeland while at the same time dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to the principles for which our Nation stands. They now are taking their full and rightful place in America's social and political life. Their contributions are legion in every area of endeavor: science, the arts, medicine, business, government, sports, religion, and the media. The efforts of ethnic Americans in bolstering the values of faith, freedom, family, work, and country have served to strengthen the fabric of our national life and have made America a culturally richer and more vibrant land in which to live. The Congress, by Public Law 99-206, has designated September 21, 1986, as "Ethnic American Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event. Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 21, 1986, as |