For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 18, 2001
National Safe Boating Week, 2001
By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation
Over 70 million recreational boaters enjoy our
Nation's waters, and the national economic impact of recreational
boating is more than $25 billion each year. This year marks
the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Boat Safety
Act. This legislation, designed to improve boating safety
and to foster greater use and enjoyment of our rivers, lakes, bays, and
waters, has accomplished these goals. By encouraging the
participation of States, local communities, industry, and the boating
public, new generations of Americans have benefited from the
development of comprehensive boating safety programs.
Two years after passage of the Federal Boat
Safety Act of 1971, 1,754 recreational boating fatalities were
reported, on a base of approximately 6 million recreational vessels
registered. Since then, the number of registered boats has
grown by over 100 percent, yet reported boating fatalities have
declined to approximately 750-800 each year.
The coordinated efforts over the past 29 years of the Federal
Government, including the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary,
States and local communities, and numerous recreational boating
organizations, have made the Recreational Boating Safety Program a
success. Cumula-tively, an estimated 27,000 lives are estimated to
have been saved as a result of the recreational boating safety programs
established by the Federal Boat Safety Act.
However, despite these programs' successes, too many boaters still die
on our Nation's waters. Recreational boating remains second
only to highways in transportation-related fatalities. Some boaters
lack basic boating safety knowledge and fail to adequately prepare or
exercise caution when boating. Though recent accident
statistics show improvement in many categories, nearly 70 percent of
all recreational boating victims die by drowning. Nearly 90 percent of
these drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket. Most of those
lives could have been saved if the victims had simply worn their life
jackets. This year's North American Safe
Boating Campaign, highlighted during National Safe Boating Week, will
emphasize the theme of "Boat Smart from the Start! Wear Your Life
Jacket!" Many recreational boating organizations promote
safety through educational programs, and I encourage those who will be
on our waterways to take advantage of these lessons. I also
urge all Americans who enjoy boating to wear their life jackets and
otherwise to conduct themselves responsibly and safely.
In recognition of the importance of safe
boating practices, the Congress, by joint resolution approved June 4,
1958 (36 U.S.C. 131), as amended, has authorized and requested the
President to proclaim annually the 7-day period prior to Memorial Day
weekend as "National Safe Boating Week." NOW,
THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 May 19 through May
25, 2001, as National Safe Boating Week. I encourage the
Governors of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, and the officials of other areas subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States, to join in observing this occasion
and to urge Americans to practice safe boating habits throughout the
year. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand this seventeenth day of
May, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
GEORGE
W. BUSH
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