[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 185 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 59645-59646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21116]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 23, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 59645]]


                Proclamation 10074 of September 11, 2020

                
Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness 
                Week, 2020

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic 
                Awareness Week, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment 
                to ending the opioid crisis in our country, and we 
                pledge to help our friends, family, and colleagues with 
                addiction as they work toward a drug-free life. 
                Addiction undercuts human personal potential, damages 
                families, and disrupts relationships. This month, and 
                every month, we must continue to raise awareness about 
                the dangers of opioid misuse and resolve to build a 
                healthier and happier Nation.

                Since my first day in office, my Administration has 
                taken aggressive action to confront and dismantle the 
                driving forces behind the opioid crisis. In October 
                2017, we declared the opioid crisis a public health 
                emergency, and in 2018, we secured $6 billion in new 
                funding to fight the opioid crisis. Most recently, I 
                signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
                Security (CARES) Act, which strengthened these efforts 
                by providing millions of dollars in emergency grant 
                funding to healthcare providers treating those with 
                substance use disorders. Additionally, to ensure that 
                access to addiction support services remains 
                uninterrupted, I eased the regulatory burdens on the 
                Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of 
                Health and Human Services, which are now ensuring 
                greater access to treatment by expanding telehealth 
                options.

                To fight over prescribing, a significant contributor to 
                the widespread opioid addiction, my Administration 
                launched the Safer Prescribing Plan in 2018, which 
                built on our early progress and set an ambitious goal 
                of cutting opioid prescription fills by one-third 
                within 3 years. This initiative is a major reason why 
                the total amount of opioid prescriptions filled in 
                America has dropped by 31 percent since I took office. 
                We have also developed partnerships between the Office 
                of National Drug Control Policy, the Truth Initiative, 
                and the Ad Council to educate young adults about the 
                dangers of misusing opioids. These efforts are 
                preventing Americans from falling victim to the potent 
                and dangerous grip of opioid addiction.

                My Administration is also taking decisive action to 
                keep dangerous drugs out of our country. Synthetic 
                opioids are extremely deadly and generally originate 
                outside of the United States. Our Nation's law 
                enforcement officers are working night and day to keep 
                this poison from crossing our borders. In 2018 alone, 
                they seized almost 5,000 pounds of fentanyl at our 
                border--enough to kill 1.2 billion individuals, the 
                equivalent of every American four times over. Although 
                we have made great progress through these actions, my 
                Administration remains as committed as ever to using 
                the power of Federal law and the expertise of our 
                Nation's dedicated law enforcement officials to prevent 
                the illegal importation and distribution of opioids, 
                which could otherwise devastate countless American 
                families.

                To help those already struggling with addiction, my 
                Administration is working to champion evidence-based 
                treatments and provide recovery support resources. In 
                2018, I signed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention 
                that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) 
                for Patients and Communities Act, which uses a whole-
                of-government approach to better monitor

[[Page 59646]]

                prescribing, improve treatment, prevent addiction, and 
                curb the use of illegal drugs. We have also awarded 
                nearly $50 million in planning grants to 15 States to 
                increase the capacity of Medicaid providers to deliver 
                substance use disorder treatment and recovery services. 
                And beginning in January of this year, Medicare began 
                covering services for its beneficiaries at opioid 
                treatment programs. Together, these efforts will help 
                expand treatment access and provide crucial support to 
                those who need it.

                This Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness 
                Week, we redouble our efforts to defeat our Nation's 
                opioid crisis. We can never forget the hundreds of 
                thousands of lives lost, nor the families forever 
                altered due to this scourge. We will always support 
                those around us who are suffering from addiction, 
                encourage those struggling in private to reach out for 
                help, and celebrate those who have found a pathway from 
                addiction to recovery. Together, we will continue to 
                build awareness and work toward a healthier, safer 
                society where every community, family, and individual 
                can flourish.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 September 13 through 
                September 19, 2020, as Prescription Opioid and Heroin 
                Epidemic Awareness Week. I call upon my fellow 
                Americans to observe this week with activities of 
                awareness and remembrance of the lives lost and 
                commitments to continue the fight.

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

[FR Doc. 2020-21116
Filed 9-22-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P