Presidential Document2023-09527
National Building Safety Month, 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
May 3, 2023
Signed
April 28, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27661-27662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09527]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 27661]]
Proclamation 10561 of April 28, 2023
National Building Safety Month, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Modern building codes help to ensure that our homes,
schools, workplaces, and gathering spots are safely
constructed and secure, keeping the power on, our
country strong, and our lives moving forward. During
National Building Safety Month, we recommit to helping
every community in America make all of its structures
safer, more sustainable, and more resilient for the
future.
From planning and design to construction and
renovation, many buildings are safer today than they
were decades ago. But nearly two-thirds of Americans
live in communities that have not yet adopted the
latest building codes, which are designed to avoid
damages and keep emerging threats like climate change
from further devastating communities with increasingly
powerful fires, floods, and storms. We need to do more
to help everyone prepare for and prevent disasters; to
promote building safety; and to support our too-often
overlooked engineers, construction workers, and code
enforcement inspectors, who do so much every day to
keep Americans safe.
My Administration has taken major steps in that
direction. Last year, we launched a new National
Initiative to Advance Building Codes, designed to help
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments adopt
the latest building standards. With our once-in-a-
generation infrastructure law, we are rebuilding the
Nation's roads, bridges, ports, water systems, and
more; we are investing over $50 billion to weatherize
American homes and to help protect communities against
droughts, heat, and floods; and we are replacing toxic
lead pipes in 10 million homes and 400,000 schools or
child care centers so every American can turn on the
faucet and drink clean water. We are also investing in
training workers to meet and enforce new standards.
The Inflation Reduction Act, meanwhile, is America's
biggest-ever investment in fighting climate change,
providing $1 billion to help States and localities
adopt building energy codes that reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. It invests another nearly $1 billion to
improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality in
federally-supported housing and make these properties
more resilient to climate impacts. At the same time,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency has helped
rebuild communities devastated by floods, fires,
tornadoes, and hurricanes while incentivizing the use
of low-carbon materials when rebuilding. Across the
board, we have committed to sending 40 percent of the
benefits of certain Federal investments--including
investments in clean energy, energy efficiency,
affordable housing, and pollution reduction--to
disadvantaged communities, which too often have been
left out and left behind.
Regularly-updated building codes and tough enforcement
are key to safety--but we can each do our part to build
a stronger, more resilient America. To keep your homes
safe, we urge all Americans to change the batteries in
your smoke alarms; to regularly check that your
appliances, vents, plumbing, and electrical systems are
working; and to keep an eye out for mold and pests that
can make loved ones sick. If you live in wildfire
country, find time to clear the leaves and debris from
around your home. While
[[Page 27662]]
there are few things more proudly American than do-it-
yourself renovations, make sure your work is in line
with local requirements designed to save lives or hire
qualified contractors to do it for you. Finally, we
urge everyone to support their local code enforcement
inspectors and to give them the respect and thanks they
deserve for keeping us safe and making all our
communities more resilient.
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 May 2023 as
National Building Safety Month. I encourage citizens,
government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and other
interested groups to join in activities that raise
awareness about building safety. I also call on all
Americans to learn more about how they can contribute
to building safety at home, at work, and in their
communities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of April, 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. 2023-09527
Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 3, 2023.
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