[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66153-66154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25603]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 222 / Monday, November 22, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 66153]]


                Proclamation 10311 of November 17, 2021

                
National Rural Health Day, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America's rural communities feed and fuel our country, 
                steward our precious lands, and are home to 1 out of 
                every 5 Americans. As we continue to fight the COVID-19 
                pandemic and make the investments we need to build back 
                better, we must ensure that our recovery includes and 
                strengthens our Nation's rural communities. On National 
                Rural Health Day, we recommit to supporting the health 
                and well-being of rural Americans and celebrate the 
                rural health care providers who work tirelessly to meet 
                their needs.

                Rural Americans face unique challenges accessing the 
                care they need and deserve. They often have to travel 
                greater distances to see a health care provider, are 
                less likely to have access to broadband to utilize 
                telehealth services, and are more likely to live in an 
                area that has a shortage of doctors, dentists, and 
                mental health providers. While the impact of the COVID-
                19 pandemic has spared no part of the country, rural 
                areas have confronted additional challenges that affect 
                the delivery of services, including limited health care 
                infrastructure and fewer clinicians.

                My Administration is committed to improving the health 
                of rural communities and ensuring that those who call 
                these communities home have equitable access to the 
                resources and services routinely available to people 
                living in more densely populated areas. That is why my 
                American Rescue Plan (ARP) is providing $8.5 billion to 
                rural health providers to keep their doors open and 
                continue responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This 
                builds on over $820 million in ARP spending from 
                earlier this year to support COVID-19 testing and 
                mitigation across 4,200 Rural Health Clinics and over 
                1,500 small rural hospitals and $100 million in ARP 
                funding to support the vaccine outreach efforts of 
                Rural Health Clinics. My Administration's plan also 
                provided $500 million to create the Emergency Rural 
                Health Care Grant Program, which is helping rural 
                communities provide more COVID-19 testing and 
                treatment, purchase medical supplies, deliver food 
                assistance, and renovate health care facilities. These 
                investments are complemented by funds to expand 
                telehealth and support training for new rural health 
                care providers, including community health workers and 
                respiratory therapists. This funding has supported 
                thousands of Rural Health Clinics, small rural 
                hospitals, and community health workers.

                My Administration's Build Back Better framework will 
                build on the successes of the ARP by delivering lower 
                cost, higher quality health care to rural Americans. My 
                Administration's proposal is the biggest expansion of 
                affordable health care in a decade and will lower 
                prescription drug and other health care costs for rural 
                Americans, keep rural hospitals open, and work to 
                address the root causes of poor health, including 
                outdated drinking water infrastructure across rural 
                America. Additionally, my Administration is 
                coordinating efforts across Federal, State, Tribal, 
                territorial, and local governments and incorporating 
                health equity principles, policies, and approaches in 
                our efforts to better support rural communities. This 
                means supporting rural hospitals and clinics, expanding 
                telehealth and workforce development, improving 
                community health, and providing greater access to 
                capital so that every American can receive lower cost 
                and higher quality health care.

[[Page 66154]]

                On National Rural Health Day, we recognize the 
                importance of the health and well-being of our rural 
                communities. As our Nation builds back better, we 
                recommit to supporting our rural health care providers 
                and working together to bring about a stronger, 
                healthier rural America.

                NOW, THERFORE, 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 18, 2021, as 
                National Rural Health Day. I call upon the people of 
                the United States to reaffirm our dedication to the 
                health and well-being of rural America.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of November, 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-
                sixth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-25603
Filed 11-19-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P