[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75463-75464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24500]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 75463]]


                Proclamation 10665 of October 31, 2023

                
National Family Caregivers Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                How we treat our children, parents, and loved ones and 
                how we value those who care for them are fundamental to 
                who we are as a Nation. Early care and education give 
                young children a strong start in life while long-term 
                care helps older Americans, veterans, and people with 
                disabilities live and work with dignity. During 
                National Family Caregivers Month, we honor the 
                Americans who lift up our communities and our Nation by 
                providing dignified, professional, and invaluable care 
                to the people we cherish the most.

                The cost of care in this country is too high, and the 
                pay for care workers is too low. A majority of 
                Americans struggle to find affordable, high-quality 
                care for themselves and their loved ones. At the same 
                time, care workers remain among the lowest-paid workers 
                in the country, though their jobs are some of the most 
                demanding. More than half of long-term care employees 
                and nearly 20 percent of child care workers leave their 
                jobs every year. As a result, many Americans are forced 
                to leave their own jobs behind to care for their loved 
                ones.

                No one should have to choose between the parents who 
                raised them, the loved ones who depend on them, or the 
                paycheck they rely on to care for their families. That 
                is why as soon as I got into office, I signed the 
                American Rescue Plan to help millions of families 
                afford child care. Through that law, we provided $145 
                million to help the National Family Caregiver Support 
                Program deliver counseling, training, and short-term 
                relief to family caregivers and other informal care 
                providers. We also helped States expand and strengthen 
                Medicaid home care programs, increased Child Care and 
                Development Block Grants that help low-income families 
                afford child care, and provided crucial support to 
                stabilize the child care sector more broadly. 
                Consequently, we were able to keep the doors of 220,000 
                child care providers open during the pandemic, ensuring 
                nearly 10 million children received care.

                Last year, we also issued the first-ever national 
                Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, outlining 
                hundreds of actions that the Federal Government can 
                take to support family caregivers' health, well-being, 
                and financial security. We required companies seeking 
                significant Federal funding from our CHIPS and Science 
                Act to submit a plan on how they will help employees 
                access affordable child care. Further, my 
                Administration proposed a rule that would set a Federal 
                floor for staffing levels in nursing homes. This 
                spring, joined by people with disabilities, family 
                caregivers, long-term care workers, early educators, 
                veterans, and aging advocates, I signed a historic 
                Executive Order that calls for the most comprehensive 
                set of actions of any administration to date to 
                increase access to high-quality child care and long-
                term care and support for caregivers. The order 
                improves access to home-based care for people with 
                disabilities and veterans, expands access to mental 
                health benefits to care workers and veteran family 
                caregivers, lowers child care costs for hard-working 
                families, builds the supply of high-quality care to 
                provide more options to individuals and families, helps 
                protect workers from exploitation, and much more.

[[Page 75464]]

                This week, we recognize the love and sacrifice of 
                millions of American caregivers. They are the backbone 
                of our country, caring for young children, aging 
                parents, disabled veterans, injured service members, 
                and others who need support and medical assistance. Let 
                us celebrate and honor our caregivers and renew our 
                efforts to protect their dignity, health, and security. 
                Because when we care for our caregivers, we honor our 
                American ideals and move closer to a future where no 
                one in this Nation is left behind.

                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 November 2023 
                as National Family Caregivers Month. I encourage all 
                Americans to reach out to those who provide care for 
                our Nation's family members, friends, and neighbors in 
                need to honor and thank them.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of October, 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-
                eighth.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-24500
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P