Presidential Document2023-07316
National Public Health Week, 2023
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
April 5, 2023
Signed
March 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20375-20377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07316]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 20375]]
Proclamation 10547 of March 31, 2023
National Public Health Week, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The field of public health is grounded in the
fundamental truth that we are all in this together--
that our health is connected and we are stronger as a
Nation when we work together to lift everyone's well-
being. During National Public Health Week, we celebrate
the life-saving work that our public health
professionals do to keep Americans healthy and safe.
All of America has seen the importance of public health
during the past 3 years. The pandemic shut down our
businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so
much, including the lives of over one million
Americans. While the virus is not gone, we have made
enormous progress, and it no longer controls our lives.
More than 230 million Americans are fully vaccinated.
COVID deaths are down more than 90 percent. Schools and
businesses are open and thriving. And these gains are
thanks in large part to the absolute courage and
commitment of everyone who contributes to protecting
our public health--including first responders and
social workers, scientists and researchers, doctors and
nurses, and so many others.
Public health professionals have been shaping our
country for the better since long before COVID arose.
From expanding access to immunizations and improving
safety standards for food, traffic, and the workplace,
to advocating for cleaner air and water, public health
professionals have improved the lives of all Americans
and made our country stronger, healthier, and more
prosperous.
Looking ahead, there is so much more to do to end
health disparities, keep advancing science, and improve
the health and well-being of all Americans. That starts
by making sure everyone has access to quality health
care. Under my Administration, we have expanded
coverage through the Affordable Care Act, making it
cheaper and easier to sign up and saving millions of
families $800 a year. Through the American Rescue Plan,
we invested $7.6 billion in community health centers,
and my latest budget would put us on a path to doubling
the size of the Health Center Program, which funds care
in underserved areas. We are also bringing down the
cost of life-saving drugs like insulin and investing in
next-generation breakthroughs to prevent, diagnose, and
treat deadly diseases like cancer through the new
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
To take on the public health epidemic of gun violence,
we passed the most significant gun safety law in three
decades, which includes enhanced background checks for
individuals under age 21, and funding for red flag laws
that can help keep guns from people who are a danger to
themselves and others. The law also makes historic
investments in mental health, and it complements the
launch of the 9-8-8 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
and additional work to protect kids online.
Additionally, I reauthorized the landmark Violence
Against Women Act that I first wrote in 1990 and
expanded protections for survivors of domestic
violence. And we are fighting the opioid epidemic by
cracking down on fentanyl trafficking; pushing for
tougher penalties for suppliers; and expanding access
to life-saving naloxone, treatment, and recovery
services.
[[Page 20376]]
We have also made the biggest-ever investment in
fighting the public health threat represented by the
climate crisis. Our Justice40 Initiative works to
ensure that 40 percent of our clean energy investments
flow to disadvantaged communities that have so often
borne the brunt, including the health consequences, of
environmental damage. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
is replacing poisonous lead pipes that go into 10
million homes and 400,000 schools and child care
centers so that every child in America can turn on the
faucet and drink clean water.
And we have released a national strategy to end hunger
and reduce diet-related diseases like diabetes and
obesity. The strategy provides millions of students
with free, nutritious school meals and helps Americans
exercise and make healthy choices in the foods they
eat. We are also supporting people who want to quit
smoking, and the Food and Drug Administration has
proposed rules to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored
cigars, which could save hundreds of thousands of
lives.
Since the Supreme Court's extreme decision to strip
women of their fundamental right to choose, I have also
taken urgent executive action to safeguard emergency
care and protect patients' privacy. The Congress must
act now to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into
law so women in every State have the right to make
their own health care decisions. At the same time, my
Administration is also working to end the maternal
health crisis that leaves Black and Native American
women up to three times more likely than white women to
die during pregnancy.
These are all vital public health issues. Their range
reminds us how connected our health is to the health of
others. That is why the United States has continued to
lead on global health challenges like HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as COVID. Working
with the G20 and other partners, we created the
Pandemic Fund to strengthen global pandemic
preparedness, prevention, and response. And at home, we
invested over $7 billion into strengthening the
capacity of State and local public health departments
to respond to future public health crises--including by
launching the new Public Health AmeriCorps to train a
strong, diverse public health workforce for the future.
As we look ahead, we have a choice to make. We can
repeat the mistakes of the past that left us vulnerable
to public health crises like COVID, or we can seize the
opportunity to better prepare ourselves for the future
and build a stronger public health system in every
community nationwide. Let's choose to move forward,
celebrating our dedicated public health professionals
and making America more healthy, resilient, and just.
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 April 3
through April 9, 2023, as National Public Health Week.
I call on all citizens, government agencies, private
businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other groups
to take action to improve the health of our Nation.
[[Page 20377]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, 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. 2023-07316
Filed 4-4-23; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 5, 2023.
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