[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 212 (Thursday, November 3, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66529-66530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24169]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 212 / Thursday, November 3, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 66529]]


                Proclamation 10489 of October 31, 2022

                
National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we are 
                inspired by the courage and fight of the millions of 
                patients, survivors, caregivers, doctors, researchers, 
                and advocates battling this terrible disease--the 
                leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. 
                For the loved ones we have lost and all those we can 
                save, we recommit to investing in cutting-edge 
                screening, prevention, and treatments, making them more 
                affordable and effective, and uniting this country in 
                our movement to end cancer as we know it.

                Over the past three decades, lung cancer case and death 
                rates have decreased dramatically nationwide--an 
                encouraging trend we owe largely to lower smoking rates 
                and improved immunotherapies that use the body's own 
                immune system to attack cancer. But lung cancer is 
                still an overwhelmingly tough diagnosis. Rural 
                communities have seen stubbornly high mortality rates, 
                driven in part by increased tobacco use, and Black men 
                are disproportionately likely to develop and die from 
                lung cancer. For the nearly quarter-million Americans 
                facing this diagnosis each year, the paralyzing fear of 
                what is to come, the onslaught of new information, and 
                the cost of new treatment can make the journey 
                daunting.

                When I was elected, I was determined to supercharge our 
                Nation's work to cure cancer. The First Lady and I set 
                a goal of cutting the cancer death rate by half in the 
                next 25 years--boosting funding for breakthroughs, 
                turning more cancers from death sentences into chronic 
                diseases, and better supporting both patients and 
                caregivers. To achieve that, we reignited the Cancer 
                Moonshot that I began under President Obama in 2016, 
                convening our Nation's first-ever Cancer Cabinet. I 
                also launched the Advanced Research Projects Agency for 
                Health (ARPA-H). I had called for its creation as a 
                candidate for President; and after I was elected, I 
                brought Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in the 
                Congress together to invest $1 billion in its launch. 
                Modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects 
                Agency, the Pentagon program that has led to world-
                changing technologies like the internet and GPS, ARPA-H 
                will have a singular purpose--to find breakthrough ways 
                to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure cancer and other 
                diseases, and free us all to live healthier lives. We 
                could soon see vaccines that prevent cancer. Easy blood 
                tests that could detect it early. A simple shot, 
                instead of grueling chemo. The possibilities are 
                astounding. I also signed an Executive Order to help 
                ensure biotechnology invented in America is made in 
                America, so we will always have access to these life-
                saving medications.

                Meanwhile, my Administration is working to make current 
                lifesaving care more affordable. I signed the Inflation 
                Reduction Act, which caps prescription drug costs for 
                seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per year, including for 
                expensive cancer drugs. We are protecting and expanding 
                the Affordable Care Act, which requires insurance 
                companies to cover recommended cancer screenings and 
                primary care visits, and prohibits them from denying 
                coverage to cancer survivors or others with preexisting 
                conditions. In August, I signed the PACT Act to ensure 
                millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic 
                substances during their military service get the health 
                care and benefits

[[Page 66530]]

                that they and their families have earned. We are also 
                fighting to reduce people's exposure to carcinogens in 
                the first place. Because smoking is the leading cause 
                of lung cancer, the Food and Drug Administration 
                recently proposed a rule to ban menthol-flavored 
                cigarettes and flavored cigars that are popular among 
                first-time smokers, particularly children. The 
                Environmental Protection Agency is working to ban the 
                ongoing use of cancer-causing asbestos to protect 
                American workers and families. The Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention is helping cancer coalitions 
                across the country boost access to screening and 
                helping people quit smoking.

                This month, I call on the private sector to continue 
                its search for new treatments and a cure for lung 
                cancer, to lower drug prices, to share more data to 
                improve patient outcomes, and to promote smoking 
                cessation. But there are also things that each of us 
                can do to fight lung cancer in our own lives. For many, 
                that starts with quitting smoking. You can reach a free 
                expert to help you quit right away at 
                BeTobaccoFree.gov, or by calling 877-44U-QUIT. Doctors 
                across my Administration recommend that anyone over 50 
                who has smoked a pack or more a day for many years and 
                currently smokes or has quit within the last 15 years 
                should get an annual lung cancer screening. Beating 
                cancer is not a red issue or a blue issue--it is 
                something that affects us all and that we can all do 
                together, drawing on the best talents, resources, and 
                grit that this country has to offer. I am unwilling to 
                postpone a cure.

                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 November 2022 
                as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. I call upon 
                the people of the United States to speak with their 
                doctors and health care providers to learn more about 
                lung cancer. I encourage citizens, government agencies, 
                private businesses, nonprofit organizations, the media, 
                and other interested groups to increase awareness about 
                what Americans can do to prevent, detect, and treat 
                lung cancer.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of October, 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. 2022-24169
Filed 11-2-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P