Presidential Documents

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


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87782 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 5, 2024 / Presidential Documents 

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 fortyninth. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25811 

Filed 11–4–24; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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