Presidential Documents

62449 

Federal Register 

Vol. 75, No. 196 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 8578 of October 4, 2010 

Child Health Day, 2010 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

The health and well-being of a child is one of our most challenging, yet 

important, responsibilities, and we have an obligation to ensure that all 

our children can live, learn, and play in safe and healthy environments. 

On Child Health Day, we reaffirm the critical importance of the quality 

health care, nutritious foods, clean air and water, and safe communities 

our kids need to grow into strong and active adults. 

Parents and other caregivers set an example of healthy living and lay the 

foundation for our children’s success. Whether providing nourishing meals, 

attending regular check-ups, or encouraging outside activity, they teach the 

habits and values for mental and physical well-being that last a lifetime. 

However, the charge to protect the health of our young people extends 

beyond the home to our classrooms, playgrounds, and hospitals around 

the country. 

Today, our children face a new public health crisis we must address as 

a Nation, and we all have a role to play. In the last three decades, childhood 

obesity rates have tripled, and this epidemic threatens many young Americans, leaving them at risk for severe and chronic health problems, including 

heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. My Administration is committed to 

solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation, and earlier 

this year I created a Task Force on Childhood Obesity to examine interagency 

solutions and develop clear, concrete steps on how to address this national 

health crisis. Along with the Task Force, First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘‘Let’s 

Move!’’ initiative empowers parents and caregivers to help their kids maintain 

a healthy weight and make healthy choices for their families. ‘‘Let’s Move!’’ 

also encourages young people to choose wholesome foods, increase their 

physical activity, and develop life-long healthy habits. Child care providers 

and schools also have an important part in strengthening health and physical 

education programs and providing nutritious foods in cafeterias and vending 

areas. 

In America, no parent should have to agonize over finding or affording 

health care for their child. To address this, the Affordable Care Act guarantees 

that children are eligible for health coverage regardless of any pre-existing 

condition. This landmark law extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and requires basic dental and vision coverage for children under 

all health plans offered in the new health insurance exchanges beginning 

in 2014. It also expands our health care workforce, including increasing 

the number of primary care providers who treat children; forbids insurance 

companies from dropping coverage if a child or family member gets sick; 

and helps ensure access to free preventive services. As we mark these 

successes and the beginning of a new chapter in American health care 

this year, we also celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Social Security 

Act—including title V of this milestone legislation, which supports maternal 

and child health programs and services across the country. 

Parents also should not have to worry about whether the conditions in 

which their children grow and play are unsafe or unclean. Prenatal and 

early-life exposures to allergens and environmental contaminants may 

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62450 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 12, 2010 / Presidential Documents 

have detrimental lifelong effects. We must take action for our children’s 

and grandchildren’s sake, and we must work together to reduce risks from 

environmental exposure at home, school, and play areas. Through coordinated efforts like that of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks to Children, my Administration will continue to 

empower Federal interagency collaboration to help ensure healthy homes 

and communities exist for our children. 

Children are our most precious resource. They are our joy in the present, 

and our hope for the future. As loved ones and educators, mentors and 

friends, we must do everything in our power to protect the health and 

well-being of our Nation’s children and the promise of their futures. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 Monday, October 

4, 2010, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, child health professionals, 

faith-based and community organizations, and all levels of government to 

help ensure that America’s children stay safe and healthy. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day 

of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence 

of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25682 

Filed 10–8–10; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W1–P 


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