John Fitzgerald Kennedy

It is hard to visualize what the world would be like without aircraft and jet propulsion, or without the vision we have, just entering the realm of reality, of exploring space.

I am pleased to transmit herewith a report on the water resources research activities of the executive branch of the Government.

I am especially glad to present this first National Medal of Science to one of the pioneers who has helped make all of this new and exciting age possible.

Action must also be taken to improve the care, the training, and the rehabilitation of those who are already afflicted by retardation.

The authority to assign radio frequencies to Government agencies is hereby delegated to the Director of the Office Of Emergency Planning.

It is my hope that the District will proceed in initiating plans and action on its own accord for the broad spectrum attack necessary to make progress against mental retardation.

I am asking the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to be of every possible help to the District in this important endeavor.

It is my earnest hope that the District of Columbia will be a leader in adopting and demonstrating the new concepts in the treatment of mental illness.

Mental retardation is the second devastating mental disability which we must vigorously attack--and here, too, a comprehensive community-centered approach is necessary.

I have recently set forth my views on the subject in a Special Message to the Congress on Mental Illness and Mental Retardation.

The authority to authorize a foreign government to construct and operate a radio station at the seat of government is hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning.

We have the knowledge and the capacity to relieve great suffering and to rehabilitate untold numbers of our fellow citizens affected with mental disabilities.

It is hereby amended by substituting for Section 3 thereof the following:

There would appear to be no better place for these forward-looking programs to be started than in the Nation's capital.

I am gratified to learn that the Commissioners have already started surveying the mental health problems and needs of the District and developing a comprehensive community mental health plan.

The logic and value of a National Service Corps has been demonstrated by the work and success of our Peace Corps overseas.

The effects of unemployment are nowhere more depressing and disheartening than among the young.

Actions deferred are all too often opportunities lost, particularly in safeguarding our natural resources.

The Nation needs a land acquisition program to preserve both prime Federal and State areas for outdoor recreation purposes.

A child's opportunity and development are shaped first and most by the strength or weakness of his home and family situation.

Now, Therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, do hereby call on the people of the Nation to observe the week beginning July 21, 1963, as National Farm Safety Week; and I urge all farm families, and all…

If we serve them better now, they will serve their nation better when the burdens are theirs alone.

I urge the Congress to enact at the earliest opportunity the Youth Employment Act which is so vital to the welfare of our young people and our Nation.

Our young persons are caught in cross-currents of population growth and technological change which hold great danger as well as great promise.

The Peace Corps has permitted more Americans from more walks of life to exhibit more of these qualities on a more generous scale than ever before in the history of this country.