[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27021-27022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10689]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 19, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 27021]]


                Proclamation 10212 of May 14, 2021

                
National Defense Transportation Day and National 
                Transportation Week, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Since our Nation's founding, our transportation 
                infrastructure has enabled our economic growth and 
                enhanced our national security. From the American 
                merchant ships that carried supplies to support 
                military operations during the Revolutionary War, to 
                the Erie Canal opening the Midwest and West for growth, 
                to the transcontinental railroad linking our Nation 
                after the Civil War; to the interstate highway system 
                transforming the way we travel, live, and work, our 
                transportation infrastructure has supported national 
                defense and powered interstate commerce. On National 
                Defense Transportation Day and during National 
                Transportation Week, we take time to recognize the 
                transformational role infrastructure has played 
                throughout our history, and reflect on the work and 
                investment required to build an even stronger, more 
                sustainable, and more equitable transportation system 
                of the future.

                America's transportation system has always proven vital 
                for civilian and military organizations, something we 
                have seen demonstrated in our Nation's response to the 
                COVID-19 pandemic. Dedicated workers, using a 
                comprehensive transportation plan, including airports, 
                highways, railroads, waterways, and public transit, 
                enabled the Federal Government to distribute tens of 
                millions of COVID-19 vaccines and helped us deliver 
                over 200 million shots in my first 100 days as 
                President.

                Even as we recognize the essential nature of our 
                transportation system, we must recognize that the 
                system was built in a way that harmed vulnerable 
                communities, does not provide equal services to all 
                people, creates harmful local pollution, and 
                contributes to climate change. We also must address the 
                fact that decades of disinvestment and neglect have 
                caused our roads, bridges and water systems to fall 
                into disrepair.

                A disproportionate number of infrastructure needs occur 
                in underserved or underrepresented communities where 
                people depend upon transportation systems for work and 
                daily activities. The lack of affordable transportation 
                options means lack of access to good-paying jobs, 
                education, and health care. Modern and resilient 
                infrastructure supporting reliable and affordable 
                transportation options make the American Dream possible 
                for all of us, regardless of geography, race, 
                disability, or economic status.

                For all of these reasons, I have proposed an American 
                Jobs Plan that will modernize 20,000 miles of highways, 
                roads, and main streets, fix the Nation's 10 most 
                economically significant bridges in America in need of 
                replacement, and repair 10,000 bridges desperately in 
                need of upgrades to unclog traffic, keep people safe, 
                and connect our cities, towns, and Tribes across the 
                country. It will build back a better transportation 
                system--one that is resilient to floods, fires, and 
                storms, and provides equitable, affordable access to 
                opportunity for all Americans.

                The American Jobs Plan will replace buses and rail 
                cars, build new rail corridors and transit lines--
                easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute 
                times, and opening up investment in communities that 
                can be connected to city centers. It will reduce the 
                bottlenecks of commerce at

[[Page 27022]]

                our ports and airports. The plan will also create good-
                quality jobs paying prevailing wages in safe and 
                healthy workplaces while ensuring workers have a free 
                and fair choice to organize, join a union, and bargain 
                collectively with their employers.

                As our Nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and 
                the economic destruction it caused, we have a chance to 
                build back better by focusing on infrastructure that 
                reconnects communities, provides equitable access to 
                transportation services, and mitigates the devastating 
                effects of climate change.

                This month we recognize the dedicated men and women who 
                kept this Nation moving during the depths of a global 
                pandemic: The truckers who delivered groceries to empty 
                store shelves; the airline crews who flew medical 
                workers to COVID-19 hotspots; the United States 
                military members who remained on the front lines to 
                distribute and administer vaccines in record time; and 
                the transportation workers who kept our systems running 
                as economies shut down. We thank you for serving the 
                American people and the traveling public.

                In recognition of the ongoing contributions of our 
                Nation's transportation system and in honor of the 
                devoted professionals who work to sustain its tradition 
                of excellence, the United States Congress has 
                requested, by joint resolution approved May 16, 1957, 
                as amended (36 U.S.C. 120), that the President 
                designate the third Friday in May of each year as 
                ``National Defense Transportation Day'' and, by joint 
                resolution approved May 14, 1962 (36 U.S.C. 133), that 
                the week in which that Friday falls be designated as 
                ``National Transportation Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, do hereby proclaim 
                Friday, May 21, 2021, as National Defense 
                Transportation Day and May 16 through May 22, 2021, as 
                National Transportation Week. I urge all Americans to 
                observe these occasions with appropriate ceremonies, 
                programs, and activities as we show our appreciation to 
                those who build and operate our Nation's transportation 
                systems.

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

[FR Doc. 2021-10689
Filed 5-18-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P