[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62687-62688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19921]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 62687]]

                Proclamation 10619 of September 8, 2023

                
National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Education beyond high school should be a ticket to the 
                middle class--and across our Nation, more than 500 
                Hispanic-Serving Institutions have helped to make that 
                promise real, opening the doors of opportunity a bit 
                wider for generations of Hispanic college students. 
                During National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, we 
                celebrate their important work.

                Today's students are part of the most talented, 
                resilient, and diverse generation in our history. But 
                while creativity and work ethic are abundant, not 
                everyone has an equal shot yet. That is why Hispanic-
                Serving Institutions are so essential. Two-thirds of 
                all Hispanic college students in America attend one; 
                they provide a quality education and empower 
                underserved students--including Dreamers and first-
                generation college students--to earn degrees and build 
                better lives for their families. And with the Supreme 
                Court's recent decision to effectively end affirmative 
                action, their work is as critical as ever.

                My Administration is committed to strengthening these 
                vital institutions and supporting their students 
                through graduation and beyond. The American Rescue Plan 
                invested $11 billion in Hispanic-Serving Institutions--
                the largest investment in Hispanic college students in 
                our Nation's history. And through our White House 
                Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, 
                and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, we are working 
                together to support Hispanic and Latino college 
                students and invest in the future of Hispanic and 
                Latino communities.

                We have also increased Pell Grants for low-income 
                families by the largest amount in over a decade, easing 
                the overwhelming cost of college for about half of all 
                Hispanic undergraduates. We fixed the Public Service 
                Loan Forgiveness program so borrowers who become 
                teachers, police officers, social workers, military 
                service members and other public servants get the debt 
                relief they are entitled to under the law. We are 
                reducing the amount that student loan borrowers have to 
                repay on their undergraduate loans to 5 percent of 
                their discretionary income each month, down from 10 
                percent--the most generous repayment program ever. That 
                is going to save the typical borrower around $1,000 a 
                year. And last year, I introduced the most ambitious 
                student debt relief plan ever, which was on the verge 
                of helping more than 40 million Americans. When the 
                Supreme Court wrongly struck down that plan, we moved 
                immediately to open an alternative path to relief that 
                could further reduce costs for many Hispanic borrowers. 
                No administration has fought harder for student debt 
                relief than mine--and we are not done yet.

                This week, I am thinking about Julieta Garc[iacute]a, 
                the first Hispanic woman in history to serve as 
                president of an American college. Last year, I had the 
                honor of giving her the Presidential Medal of Freedom 
                for her work building a culture of excellence, 
                affirmation, and curiosity for generations of students. 
                Reflecting on her career, she once said, ``My job was 
                always to thrust open the doors of opportunity.'' That 
                is what Hispanic-Serving Institutions do--and that is 
                what America is all about: widening the aperture of 
                opportunity for everyone.

[[Page 62688]]

                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 September 10 
                through September 16, 2023, as National Hispanic-
                Serving Institutions Week. I call on public officials, 
                educators, and all the people of the United States to 
                observe this week with appropriate programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the many 
                ways these institutions and their graduates contribute 
                to our country.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth day of September, 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. 2023-19921
Filed 9-12-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P