[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62691-62692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19923]


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

[[Page 62691]]


                Proclamation 10621 of September 8, 2023

                
World Suicide Prevention Day, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On World Suicide Prevention Day, we hold all those 
                affected by suicide close in our hearts--the Americans 
                we have lost to this public health problem, the loved 
                ones who mourn their heart-wrenching losses, and all 
                the families and professionals working to support those 
                in crisis. Though we recognize there is no single cause 
                or single solution to suicide, we know that access to 
                support and treatment can save lives. My Administration 
                remains committed to expanding suicide prevention 
                programs to reach every community in our Nation and 
                ensuring all Americans can receive the care and support 
                they deserve.

                My Administration is working to tackle the mental 
                health crisis, including by addressing the many risk 
                factors associated with suicide--it is a core pillar of 
                my Unity Agenda and one of the big challenges we as a 
                society can overcome together. We have laid out a 
                strategy to transform how mental health is understood, 
                accessed, treated, and integrated in and out of health 
                care settings. Our goals are to strengthen the mental 
                health system's capacity, connect more Americans to 
                care, and create healthy environments that strengthen 
                mental health.

                In 2021, more than 48,000 Americans were lost to 
                suicide, over 12.3 million adults seriously considered 
                suicide, and 1.7 million people attempted suicide. 
                Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 
                youth and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24 
                years old. And the suicide rate for veterans was more 
                than 50 percent greater than for non-veteran adults. 
                Yet despite the fact that so many Americans struggle 
                with their mental health, treatment is often too 
                expensive or inaccessible.

                In 2021, less than half of all adults with mental 
                illness received care for it. For children, the numbers 
                are even worse. Nearly 70 percent of our kids who seek 
                care for mental health or substance use cannot get it. 
                Parents, teachers, school nurses, and counselors are 
                telling us there is a serious youth mental health 
                crisis happening right now in this country. But 
                insurers still make it far too difficult to get mental 
                health care. With too few mental health providers in 
                their plan's network, patients with private insurance 
                are often forced to seek out-of-network care at 
                significantly higher costs, if they can find it.

                Recently, my Administration proposed new steps to 
                meaningfully expand access to mental health care in 
                America, including requiring health insurance plans to 
                identify gaps in the mental health care that they 
                provide and to fix them. Under this plan, insurers 
                would have to measure how often they require prior 
                authorization for mental health care treatment and how 
                often they deny those requests.

                I have heard the despair from families everywhere, 
                watching their spouse's, child's, or loved one's light 
                dim, knowing they need help but lacking the means to 
                get it. This sense of helplessness strips families of 
                their confidence and dignity. Health insurers should 
                cover mental health crises the same way they would 
                cover treatment for a broken bone or any other physical 
                health condition. Since I took office, my 
                Administration has been fighting to make that a 
                reality.

[[Page 62692]]

                Our American Rescue Plan delivered nearly $5 billion to 
                expand Federal and State mental health and substance 
                use services. Last year, when we passed the Nation's 
                first major gun safety law in nearly three decades, we 
                added measures to further expand the number of school 
                psychologists and counselors available to our kids, 
                make it easier for schools to use Medicaid to deliver 
                mental health services, and increase the number of 
                Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics that 
                deliver 24/7 care.

                We have also launched 988, the National Suicide and 
                Crisis Lifeline, which connects those experiencing a 
                mental health crisis to a trained crisis counselor 
                right away. And we established the National Maternal 
                Mental Health Hotline to help mothers navigate mental 
                health issues that can be reached by dialing 1-833-TLC-
                MAMA (1-833-852-6262). And to those experiencing 
                emotional distress or thoughts of suicide: Please know 
                that you are loved and that there is hope. I encourage 
                you to call or text 988 for free, confidential support.

                We are also investing in mental health care and suicide 
                prevention efforts for service members and veterans to 
                better honor our sacred obligation to the troops we 
                send into harm's way by caring for them and their 
                families when they return. We are hiring more mental 
                health professionals and investing in programs that 
                recruit veterans to help others get the support they 
                need. We are working to expand rental assistance and 
                job placement programs for our veterans to help reduce 
                financial strain. And to help our first responders heal 
                from any trauma they faced on the job, I have also 
                signed laws that extend counseling, benefits, and other 
                mental health resources.

                As the world joins together to honor the memories of 
                those we lost to suicide and their loved ones, may we 
                recommit to ensuring that help and support are 
                accessible and affordable to every American.

                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, 
                2023, as World Suicide Prevention Day. I call upon all 
                Americans, communities, organizations, and levels of 
                government to join me in creating hope through action 
                and committing to preventing suicide across America.

                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. 2023-19923
Filed 9-12-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P