[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53361-53362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18933]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 53361]]

                Proclamation 10431 of August 26, 2022

                
Overdose Awareness Week, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The overdose epidemic has taken a heartbreaking toll on 
                our Nation, claiming the lives of far too many 
                Americans and devastating families and communities 
                across the country. During Overdose Awareness Week, we 
                renew our commitment to taking bold action to prevent 
                overdoses and related deaths. We continue our efforts 
                to enhance prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and 
                recovery support services for individuals with 
                substance use disorder and addiction. We affirm our 
                duty to stop the flow of illicit drugs from reaching 
                our communities.

                As the overdose epidemic has evolved, synthetic opioids 
                --particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl--now 
                drive the majority of overdose deaths. In 2021, more 
                than 100,000 people died from an overdose, an 
                approximate 15 percent increase from the previous year. 
                Every loss is a painful reminder that, now more than 
                ever, we must address our Nation's overdose epidemic.

                As I said during my State of the Union Address, beating 
                the opioid overdose epidemic is an urgent priority for 
                the Nation and a key pillar of my Administration's 
                Unity Agenda. That is why the American Rescue Plan 
                provided nearly $4 billion to strengthen our Nation's 
                mental health and substance use care infrastructure. 
                The Department of Justice has seized record amounts of 
                illicit drugs and provided $94 million to adult re-
                entry and recidivism reduction programs, including 
                almost $30 million for substance use disorder 
                treatment. The Department of Health and Human Services 
                released a comprehensive Overdose Prevention Strategy, 
                increasing access to services for affected individuals 
                and families. The White House Office of National Drug 
                Control Policy released its first National Drug Control 
                Strategy, focusing on untreated addiction and drug 
                trafficking, two critical drivers of the overdose 
                epidemic. We are making significant strides in ending 
                the stigmatization surrounding addiction so people can 
                access the help they need.

                We are also changing how we help people with substance 
                use disorder in a variety of ways. We are working to 
                expand access to high-impact harm reduction 
                interventions like naloxone, the opioid overdose 
                reversal medication, and to remove barriers to 
                effective treatment. We are addressing the underlying 
                factors that lead to substance use disorder and 
                addiction. We are targeting drug trafficking 
                organizations by disrupting the operating capital they 
                need to sustain their criminal enterprises.

                These are important steps, but we know more work lies 
                ahead. That is why my budget calls for an historic 
                investment of $42.5 billion for National Drug Control 
                Program Agencies to support the National Drug Control 
                Strategy, including $24.3 billion to support the 
                expansion of evidence-based prevention, treatment, harm 
                reduction, and recovery support services. This request 
                also includes increasing funding to reduce illicit drug 
                supplies and improve the health and safety of our 
                communities.

                Overdose Awareness Week is a time to remember those 
                tragically lost to overdose and the pain of the 
                families who are left behind. But it is also an 
                opportunity to recommit ourselves to working together 
                to build safe, healthy, and resilient communities. By 
                adopting evidence-based approaches

[[Page 53362]]

                to reducing overdose risks and lowering barriers to 
                treatment and support, we can save more American lives.

                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 August 28 
                through September 3, 2022, as Overdose Awareness Week. 
                I call upon citizens, Government agencies, civil 
                society organizations, healthcare providers, and 
                research institutions to raise awareness of substance 
                use disorder to combat stigmatization, to promote 
                treatment and celebrate recovery, and to strengthen our 
                collective efforts to prevent overdose deaths. August 
                31st also marks Overdose Awareness Day, on which we 
                honor and remember those who have lost their lives to 
                the drug overdose epidemic.

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

[FR Doc. 2022-18933
Filed 8-30-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P