```

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 87781-87782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25811]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 5, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 87781]]

                Proclamation 10854 of October 31, 2024

                
National Veterans and Military Families Month, 
                2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Each veteran and military family represents a link in a 
                chain of honor that stretches back to our founding 
                days, unwavering in their devotion to their loved ones 
                who served in uniform. This month, we honor all of our 
                military and veteran families. They too serve and 
                sacrifice to answer our Nation's call to duty. We owe 
                them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay.

                I often say that, as a Nation, we have many 
                obligations, but only one is truly sacred: to prepare 
                and equip those we send into harm's way and to care for 
                them and their families when they come home.

                We are continually working to make sure that our 
                Nation's veterans and service members have access to 
                the benefits and care they deserve. I have signed more 
                than 34 bipartisan bills to better support our service 
                members, veterans and their families, caregivers, and 
                survivors. One of those bills, the Sergeant First Class 
                Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address 
                Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, was the most 
                significant expansion of benefits and services for 
                toxic-exposed veterans and survivors in nearly 30 
                years. To date, more than 1.1 million veterans and over 
                11,000 survivors are now receiving new service-
                connected disability benefits, and over 796,000 
                veterans have newly enrolled in Veterans Affairs health 
                care since the law was enacted. This law is helping 
                families who lost loved ones to toxic illness gain 
                access to critical resources and services, including 
                monthly benefits, educational assistance, home loans, 
                and more. Actions outlined in our national strategy to 
                prevent military and veteran suicide are tackling the 
                root causes of the military and veteran suicide crisis, 
                including by better supporting families through the 
                Governor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service 
                Members, Veterans, and their Families. And we are 
                making progress in eliminating homelessness and 
                improving financial security for veteran and military 
                families. Too often, veteran and military families 
                become the targets of bad actors and scam artists. My 
                Administration's Veteran Service Member Family Fraud 
                Evasion initiative is providing easy, one stop access 
                to resources to report fraud and get help from the 
                Federal Government to combat scams. Additionally, I 
                signed an Executive Order that implemented historic, 
                bipartisan military justice reforms to transform how 
                the military handles sexual assault and domestic 
                violence cases. And I directed the Department of 
                Defense to review pay and benefits for our service 
                members--an important step toward ensuring their 
                compensation reflects their service and sacrifice.

                Military-connected families sacrifice for our country, 
                answering the call to duty over and over again. Many 
                military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors 
                struggle to achieve their desired career goals due to 
                unique challenges military-connected families face. 
                This is why I signed an Executive Order that takes the 
                most comprehensive set of administrative actions in 
                history to support the economic security of military 
                families and veterans' spouses, caregivers, and 
                survivors. I encouraged Federal agencies to do more to 
                retain military spouses through flexible policies, 
                ensuring they have access to stable jobs throughout 
                their careers. Last year, I signed an Executive

[[Page 87782]]

                Order that directed more than 50 actions to improve the 
                care economy, which included critical actions to better 
                support military and veteran caregivers and expand 
                access to military child care. These orders build on 
                the efforts taken by my Administration to improve the 
                quality of life for military families, including 
                initiatives to ease military moves, afford housing, and 
                find child care. Joining Forces, the First Lady's 
                initiative, is working to better support military and 
                veteran families--doing everything from making school 
                transitions easier for military children to expanding 
                economic opportunities for military spouses and 
                caregivers.

                This is personal for my family and for me. We know the 
                pride of seeing your child wear the uniform of the 
                United States. We know the pain of long deployments far 
                from home. We know what it is like to pray for the safe 
                return of someone you love. This month, may we show our 
                immense gratitude for our military and veteran 
                families, whose courage and dedication represent the 
                best of who we are as a Nation.

                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 2024 
                as National Veterans and Military Families Month. I 
                call upon the people of the United States to honor 
                veterans and military families with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-25811
Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
```