[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75465-75467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24501]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 75465]]


                Proclamation 10666 of October 31, 2023

                
National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This year, nearly 250,000 Americans will be diagnosed 
                with lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in 
                the United States. During National Lung Cancer 
                Awareness Month, we honor the resilient people who have 
                faced this diagnosis, the loved ones who rally to their 
                side, and the medical professionals who do all they can 
                to help patients survive and heal. We recommit to 
                ending cancer as we know it by investing in new, 
                affordable ways to prevent, detect, and treat this 
                deadly disease.

                In recent years, improved treatments, as well as 
                enhanced early detection, have brought us closer toward 
                turning cancer diagnoses from death sentences into 
                treatable diseases. However, challenges persist for 
                patients and their families. It can be challenging to 
                determine the best course of treatment. The treatment 
                itself can be grueling. Medical bills can pile up. For 
                some, progress is still too slow. This includes Black 
                men, who are disproportionately likely to develop and 
                die from lung cancer; people living in rural 
                communities, where mortality rates remain stubbornly 
                high; and women under 50 years old, who are diagnosed 
                with lung cancer at higher rates than men of the same 
                age.

                As a Nation, we must come together to change that. That 
                is why the First Lady and I reignited the Cancer 
                Moonshot, setting ambitious goals to cut the cancer 
                death rate by at least half in the next 25 years and 
                improve the experience of patients and families. As a 
                first step, my Administration secured $2.5 billion in 
                funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for 
                Health (ARPA-H). The scientists, innovators, and public 
                health professionals funded by ARPA-H are driving 
                breakthroughs in preventing, detecting, and treating 
                cancer and other deadly diseases. Throughout our 
                history, the United States has led the world in 
                scientific innovation and discovery. We will continue 
                to do so on our way to ending cancer as we know it.

                My Administration is also investing in screening and 
                early detection--services that are critical to 
                diagnosing lung cancer in its beginning stages and 
                saving lives. The Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention--along with other agencies, community health 
                centers, and partners in the private sector--is 
                providing early detection knowledge and support 
                services to underserved communities. We remain 
                committed to increasing lung cancer screening rates for 
                those most at risk and encourage everyone to talk to 
                their doctor about symptoms.

                There are additional steps each of us can take to 
                reduce the impact of lung cancer in our own lives. For 
                many, that starts with quitting smoking, the number one 
                cause of lung cancer and the single-largest driver of 
                cancer deaths in America. This year, our White House 
                Smoking Cessation Forum brought together public health 
                workers, health care providers, people living with 
                cancer and their caregivers, and others to expand 
                access to programs that help people who want to quit 
                and ensure that these programs are accessible to 
                everyone. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration 
                proposed rules to prohibit menthol cigarettes and 
                flavored cigars to help adults who are trying to quit 
                smoking and to prevent children from becoming the

[[Page 75466]]

                next generation of smokers. Help is available to those 
                who want to quit smoking at www.BeTobaccoFree.gov or 
                www.smokefree.gov or by calling 877-44U-QUIT.

                Additionally, my Administration has taken significant 
                steps to make cancer treatments affordable for 
                everyone. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, out-of-
                pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare will soon be 
                capped at $2,000 per year--including expensive cancer 
                drugs that sometimes cost several times that. We 
                strengthened Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act 
                (ACA), expanding health care coverage for millions of 
                Americans and helping nearly 15 million people save an 
                average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums. 
                I remain committed to maintaining the accessibility of 
                cancer care secured in the ACA, including requiring 
                insurers to pay for cancer screenings and primary care 
                visits and covering cancer survivors and others who 
                have preexisting conditions. I signed the PACT Act into 
                law--one of the most significant laws ever to help 
                veterans exposed to toxic materials, some of whom 
                develop lung cancer and other diseases. This law 
                expands access to benefits and services to veterans, 
                ensuring they have access to health care, free 
                screenings, and benefits through the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs. The law also provides access to 
                survivor benefits for families of veterans who died due 
                to a toxic-related illness. I was also proud to sign 
                the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, giving more than 
                10,000 firefighters and their families critical 
                workers' compensation and other benefits by making sure 
                certain kinds of heart problems, lung disease, and 
                cancers are presumed to be caused by the job.

                Cancer has touched nearly every family in America--
                including mine. During National Lung Cancer Awareness 
                Month, the First Lady and I have one message to the 
                Nation: There is hope. We see it in the extraordinary 
                courage and strength of all who are facing this deadly 
                disease and in the families and loved ones who support 
                them. We see it in the researchers who are chasing new 
                breakthroughs and the health care workers who care for 
                their patients with compassion and skill. This month 
                and every month, we must seize the urgency of this 
                moment to find better solutions, treatments, and cures 
                and to unite as one Nation to end cancer as we know it.

                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 2023 
                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.

[[Page 75467]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of October, 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. 2023-24501
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P