Presidential Document2022-23853
National First Responders Day, 2022
Primary source
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Published
November 1, 2022
Signed
October 27, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 65649-65650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23853]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 210 / Tuesday, November 1, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 65649]]
Proclamation 10482 of October 27, 2022
National First Responders Day, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On National First Responders Day, we honor the bravery
of our Nation's heroes who put their lives on the line
for their fellow Americans each and every day--from law
enforcement officers who keep our streets safe and
firefighters who rush into burning buildings, to relief
workers who care for our families after natural
disasters and EMTs, paramedics, and other public health
workers who provide life-saving emergency care at a
moment's notice. When tragedies strike, these women and
men are always there to help us, and we thank them for
their extraordinary service to our country.
I have witnessed up close the courage, character, and
valor of first responders across the Nation. In
Florida, Puerto Rico, and Kentucky, search and rescue
teams swooped in to save lives in the aftermath of
Hurricanes Ian and Fiona and historic flooding. In
Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, and California,
firefighters battled raging wildfires, even when some
of their own homes had been destroyed. In Buffalo, New
York, a retired police officer lost his life protecting
his community from a mass shooter. Living a life of
service and sacrifice is not just what first responders
do--it is who they are.
We ask more of our first responders today than ever
before. Being a police officer not only means keeping
our communities safe but also acting as a counselor and
a social worker. Being a firefighter means not only
combatting fires in homes and businesses but also
suiting up to fight raging wildfires made more frequent
and ferocious by the climate crisis. Throughout the
pandemic, medical teams and community health workers
have been on the frontlines, working around the clock
to save lives. Yet, even when first responders are
stretched thin, their courage and commitment to service
never wavers.
That is why my Administration's American Rescue Plan
committed over $10 billion in funds for public safety
and violence prevention, including billions of dollars
to recruit and retain first responders, avoid public
safety layoffs, and purchase emergency vehicles and
other equipment to keep our communities safe. We
increased Federal funding for State and local law
enforcement by almost 30 percent last year. With my
Safer America Plan, I am asking the Congress for
additional funding to provide our law enforcement
officers with more mental health and wellness resources
and to recruit and hire 100,000 more police officers
who are trained in safe, effective, and accountable
community policing. When it comes to strengthening
public safety, the answer is not to defund the police:
It is to provide them with the tools, training, and
support they need to fight crime and build trust with
the communities they are sworn to protect.
The same goes for fighting fires, which is why I, in
partnership with the Congress, substantially increased
wages for Federal wildland firefighters, implemented
new programs to support their mental and physical
health, and created a wildland firefighter job series
to improve recruitment, retention, and professional
opportunities. The American Rescue Plan and the 2023
Budget include combined increases of $320 million for
Federal firefighting
[[Page 65650]]
grants, helping to fund 1,200 more local firefighters,
hundreds more emergency response vehicles, and
thousands of protective gear sets. In addition, I
signed into law the Protecting America's First
Responders Act, reducing red tape for firefighters and
other first responders with disabilities to qualify for
critical benefits and extending benefits to surviving
families of firefighters who lost their lives in
training. Because cancer is a leading cause of death
among firefighters, my Administration created a special
unit at the Department of Labor to help process cancer
claims, and I am calling on the Congress to pass the
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act to ensure cancer
patients and their families get the compensation they
deserve.
Today and every day, America's first responders remain
on alert and on call, always there for us when we need
them. As we celebrate these patriots who have answered
the call of duty, we honor the memory of the heroes we
have lost. They are woven into the fabric of our
national character--embodying the extraordinary
selflessness, rare commitment to others, and remarkable
bravery that has inspired us for generations. Our first
responders remind us that we are a great country
because we are made up of good people. Let us renew our
commitment as a Nation to standing by them and their
families just as they stand by us, shaping a stronger,
safer, and more resilient America.
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 28,
2022, as National First Responders Day. I call upon all
the people of the United States to observe this day
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities
to honor our brave first responders and to pay tribute
to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh 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. 2022-23853
Filed 10-31-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 1, 2022.
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