[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 9, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53759-53760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17179]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 152 / Wednesday, August 9, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 53759]]

                Proclamation 10605 of August 4, 2023

                
National Health Center Week, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Every year, our Nation's nearly 1,400 federally funded 
                community health centers provide critical, accessible, 
                and affordable medical, dental, and behavioral health 
                care to over 30 million Americans. Spread across every 
                State and territory, these vital health care centers 
                help make real the promise that health care in this 
                country should be a right, not a privilege. During 
                National Health Center Week, we celebrate their 
                dedicated staff and recommit to providing the resources 
                these vital centers need to continue protecting the 
                well-being of the American people.

                From the beginning of my Administration, we have made 
                historic investments to strengthen our Nation's 
                community health center network. Through the American 
                Rescue Plan, we invested $7.6 billion to grow the 
                health center workforce, update facilities, and provide 
                them with the necessary resources to fight the COVID-19 
                pandemic. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is 
                rebuilding our roads, highways, water systems, and 
                high-speed internet to better connect people and places 
                with the care they need. My latest Budget would renew 
                critical support for the Health Center Program and put 
                it on a path to double its size and expand its reach.

                Community health centers are key to tackling health 
                care disparities in underserved communities. By 
                improving access to screenings, they bring us closer to 
                ending cancer as we know it, which is the goal of my 
                Cancer Moonshot Initiative. By connecting more 
                Americans to behavioral health services, they build an 
                infrastructure of service that addresses mental health 
                needs--a key pillar of my Unity Agenda. By supporting 
                the delivery of pregnancy-related care, they improve 
                the lives of mothers and children across the country.

                Time and again, evidence reveals that health centers 
                make a powerful difference in the communities they 
                serve. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
                community health care centers distributed over 20 
                million vaccines--nearly 70 percent of which went to 
                people of color and more than 20 percent to those who 
                lived in rural areas. In these ways, they help bridge a 
                critical gap in access to lifesaving prevention and 
                treatment. And because of their patient-majority 
                governing board structure, health centers ensure that 
                their mission and decision-making are informed not only 
                by medical experts but, principally, by the people they 
                serve.

                These investments are a matter of human dignity and 
                fairness. When we fail to invest in the health outcomes 
                of some communities, we all suffer. But when we take 
                the necessary actions to improve care in every zip 
                code, we are all better for it.

                This week, we thank the heroic health center staff on 
                the front lines of improving lives. We acknowledge your 
                sacrifice and courage, especially at the height of the 
                pandemic. We are grateful for your daily work that 
                saves lives and protects the future of our country. You 
                make the promise of America real--a promise to lift 
                everyone up and leave no one behind. My Administration 
                is committed to supporting you as you make our Nation 
                healthier, more resilient, and more just.

[[Page 53760]]

                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 the week of 
                August 6 through August 12, 2023, as National Health 
                Center Week.

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

[FR Doc. 2023-17179
Filed 8-8-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P