Presidential Document2022-26713
International Day of Persons With Disabilities, 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 7, 2022
Signed
December 2, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 74949-74950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26713]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 7, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 74949]]
Proclamation 10503 of December 2, 2022
International Day of Persons With Disabilities,
2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we
recognize and celebrate the equal rights and dignity of
disabled people everywhere and reaffirm our commitment
to building a world where people with disabilities are
afforded the opportunities, independence, and respect
they deserve.
This work has been a priority throughout my career. I
was proud to co-sponsor the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) in 1990, a definitive endorsement of
disability rights and bulwark against discrimination.
It was also a powerful example of America's global
leadership: in the years since the ADA became law, 180
nations have passed similar laws, delivering justice to
millions worldwide.
But we have more work to do. Here in the United States,
people with disabilities are three times less likely to
be employed, and those who are employed often earn less
than their peers for doing the same work. Public
spaces, including transit systems and voting locations,
are still often inaccessible. And across the globe,
disabled people routinely face violence, harassment,
exploitation, abuse, and other barriers to their full
participation in society.
From the beginning, my Administration has made righting
those wrongs a priority. I signed an Executive Order on
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the
Federal Workforce to advance employment opportunities
for communities facing barriers, including Americans
with disabilities. Our American Rescue Plan is
providing $25 billion to States to make it easier for
seniors and people with disabilities to receive care in
their own homes, and my Administration delivered
vaccines, masks, tests, and therapeutics directly to
people in their communities to protect Americans with
disabilities and other preexisting health conditions
from COVID-19. I also directed my Administration to
accelerate progress toward understanding, diagnosing,
and treating ``long COVID,'' a condition that has
affected many Americans across the country.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is our Nation's
largest-ever investment in accessible transit, and it
is also supporting the expansion of high-speed Internet
across the country so people can work, study, and stay
connected regardless of their ability to leave home.
The bipartisan Honoring our PACT Act--the most
significant expansion of services for veterans in more
than 30 years--helps veterans harmed by toxic exposure
access the health care and disability benefits they
have earned. The Inflation Reduction Act is capping the
cost of lifesaving prescription drugs for seniors and
people with disabilities on Medicare and putting more
money into Americans' pockets. And my Administration
has made hearing aids available to Americans over the
counter, lowering average costs by as much as $3,000
per pair.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor is protecting the
rights of workers with disabilities and fighting to end
unjust sub-minimum wages. To strengthen these efforts,
I signed an Executive Order requiring Federal
contractors to pay a minimum wage of $15 per hour,
including for employees with disabilities. And the
Social Security Administration and Departments of
[[Page 74950]]
Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services are
helping State and local governments, employers, and
nonprofits access Federal funds to hire more Americans
with disabilities.
We are also lifting up the dignity and rights of
disabled people around the world. I reestablished the
role of Special Advisor on International Disability
Rights at the Department of State to prioritize this
issue in our foreign policy. The United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) is also advancing
disability inclusion as part of its democracy, climate,
humanitarian, and peacebuilding activities. For
example, USAID is helping communities expand access to
wheelchairs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids, which enable
people to live productive, independent lives. As co-
chair of the Global Action on Disability Network and a
participant in the Global Disability Summit, the United
States continues to stand for the equal human rights of
people with disabilities worldwide.
In honor of the inherent dignity and worth of disabled
people around the world and in recognition of the
immeasurable contributions people with disabilities
have made throughout history and still make today, we
must continue to build a more inclusive, equitable, and
just world. Let us increase access to health care,
expand educational and job opportunities that offer
dignity and respect, and break down stigmas that make
it difficult for people to see each other's shared
humanity. And let us remember that disability is a
source of identity and power for over a billion people
and that this movement is not only about disability
rights but disability pride as well.
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 December 3,
2022, as International Day of Persons with
Disabilities. I call on all Americans to observe this
day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of December, 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. 2022-26713
Filed 12-6-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 7, 2022.
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