September 20, 1977
78-85 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR A
PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT
Commemorative Proclamations—Issuance of
This memorandum is in response to your request for our opinion on the
extent to which issuance by the President o f commemorative proclamations is
mandatory.
There are some commemorative proclamations issued without congressional
request, on the basis o f longstanding tradition (e .g ., Thanksgiving Day, Small
Business W eek, Red Cross Month). Others are issued pursuant to joint
resolutions o f the Congress. Joint resolutions authorizing and requesting
issuance o f annual proclamations or a permanent proclamation are codified in
36 U .S .C ., Ch. 9 (National Observances).
With respect to proclamations issued as a matter of tradition, issuance is
discretionary and the President can if he wishes either discontinue issuing such
proclamations or he can issue perm anent proclamations calling for the obser
vance of the occasion each year in the future so that further proclamations on
the subject would not be necessary. Examples of permanent proclamations are
Proclamation No. 2957 o f Decem ber 13, 1951, 3 CFR 143 (1949-1953 Com
pilation), calling for the observance o f Stephen Foster Memorial Day on Janu
ary 13 each year, issued pursuant to 36 U .S.C . § 158, and Proclamation No.
3537 of May 4, 1963, 3 CFR 285 (1959-1963 Compilation), calling for the
observance o f Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 and Police W eek, the
week o f May 15 each year, issued pursuant to 36 U .S.C . § 167.
All commemorative proclam ations are purely hortatory and without legal
force or effect, whether or not the Congress has requested that a proclamation
on the subject be issued annually. Therefore, if the President should decline to
honor a congressional request for issuance o f an annual proclamation, it would
be without legal ramification.
Perhaps the num ber o f proclam ations presented to the President for consider
ation could be reduced if the Congress were asked to review all existing
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requests for issuance of annual proclamations with a view to eliminating some
requests and substituting a request for a permanent proclamation.
John M . H arm on
A ssistant Attorney G eneral
Office o f L egal Counsel
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