Presidential Document2022-22828
Blind Americans Equality Day, 2022
Primary source
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Published
October 19, 2022
Signed
October 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 63393-63394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22828]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 63393]]
Proclamation 10477 of October 14, 2022
Blind Americans Equality Day, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On Blind Americans Equality Day, we celebrate the
essential contributions of blind and low-vision
Americans, whose talents and strength shape every
industry and every community.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first
Presidential Proclamation honoring the independent
spirit of blind Americans and calling on us all to help
build a more accessible Nation. Twenty-six years later,
in 1990, we came together as Democrats and Republicans
to pass the most sweeping civil rights legislation in a
generation--the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)--
improving the lives of the now more than 60 million
Americans living with a disability, including more than
7 million with vision loss. I was enormously proud to
cosponsor that bill as a United States Senator, and as
President, I am making sure that we deliver on its full
promise to end discrimination, increase independence,
and expand opportunity for everyone.
The ADA has been transformational, but it did not end
our work. As long as disabled Americans--including
those who are blind and low-vision--face barriers to
equality, opportunity, and freedom, we have more to do.
That is why, on my first day in office, I was proud to
sign an Executive Order establishing a government-wide
commitment to equity for all. I am proud to have
appointed the first-ever White House Disability Policy
Director and to work every day to make sure that the
dignity and rights of disabled and blind Americans are
championed in every policy that we pursue.
During the pandemic, my American Rescue Plan has helped
States better cover low-income adults living with
disabilities on Medicaid and given schools funding to
reopen safely, helping to better serve students with
vision loss and other disabilities. My Administration
launched the Disability Information and Access Line to
help blind and other disabled people schedule COVID-19
tests and vaccinations, and we have expanded the
availability of accessible at-home tests for blind and
low-vision Americans. Meanwhile, my Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law is expanding access to transit for
blind and other disabled Americans by updating old
train stations and airports. The Labor Department is
defending the rights of workers with disabilities to
receive a fair wage. My Administration is creating jobs
by funding State and local governments, employers, and
nonprofits that hire more people with disabilities,
including vision loss. Additionally, the Department of
Education is funding projects to teach more STEM
teachers braille, in turn expanding access to STEM
education for blind and low-vision students. I have
also signed Executive Orders to start to remove
barriers that keep too many people with disabilities
from voting.
Across the board, we have been making great progress,
but I know there is much more to do to guarantee every
American the same fair shot to contribute, thrive, and
succeed. I will keep fighting to get more disabled and
blind Americans support and care in their own
communities, as well as the workplace accommodations
they deserve. I am proud to join so many fierce
advocates in this cause, and I call today on all
Americans
[[Page 63394]]
to help us build on the ADA's promise--moving our
Nation closer to realizing its full potential as a
place that is truly for everyone.
By joint resolution approved on October 6, 1964 (Public
Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress authorized
October 15 of each year as ``White Cane Safety Day,''
which is recognized today as ``Blind Americans Equality
Day,'' to honor the contributions of blind and low-
vision Americans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 15,
2022, as Blind Americans Equality Day. I call upon all
government officials, educators, volunteers and all the
people of the United States to mark this day with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-22828
Filed 10-18-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 19, 2022.
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