[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 41291-41292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10526]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 41291]]


                Proclamation 10749 of May 3, 2024

                
Public Service Recognition Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our Nation's over 20 million public servants work hard 
                to deliver for our families, communities, and country. 
                Their work matters to people's everyday lives: They 
                keep neighborhoods safe and the buses running, and 
                build futures for people in their hometowns. They are 
                the lifeblood of our democracy, acting as brave first 
                responders, election workers, and service members 
                defending our country. This week, we recognize our 
                Nation's public servants, who do the humble yet 
                critical work of keeping our country running.

                When I came into office, our country was facing an 
                unprecedented crisis--a pandemic was raging and the 
                economy was reeling. But we turned things around--in no 
                small part because of our public servants. I signed the 
                American Rescue Plan, providing $350 billion to ensure 
                public servants could stay on the job. That money put 
                more police officers in our communities and more 
                teachers and education support professionals in our 
                schools. It went directly to every community in America 
                so public servants could decide how to best help their 
                communities. Because of public servants' work, child 
                care centers stayed open, families stayed in their 
                homes, and small businesses stayed afloat. At the same 
                time, this legislation also made one of the biggest 
                investments ever in public safety. Our public servants 
                have done an incredible job of putting these resources 
                to work by hiring more officers for accountable, 
                effective community policing and supporting violence 
                intervention programs that help prevent crime in the 
                first place. Together, we created new jobs, new 
                businesses, and new hope for folks across the country.

                Our Nation relies on our public servants every day, and 
                they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. 
                That is why I issued an Executive Order to increase the 
                minimum wage for Federal employees to $15 per hour, 
                ensuring our public servants are paid fairly while also 
                attracting more competitive applicants to these 
                critical roles. I established a White House Task Force 
                on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, led by Vice 
                President Harris, to strengthen the right to organize 
                and bargain collectively, including for Federal 
                Government workers. Further, I launched a Government-
                wide initiative to promote diversity, equity, and 
                inclusion in the Federal workforce so that it reflects 
                all the communities we serve. My Administration 
                finalized a rule prohibiting Federal agencies from 
                considering an applicant's current or past pay when 
                determining their future salaries--eliminating gender 
                and racial pay inequities that can otherwise follow 
                those seeking a job in public service. To ensure all 
                Federal employees feel safe and supported in the 
                workplace, I took executive action to protect Federal 
                employees from discrimination on the basis of their 
                gender identity or sexual orientation--pushing the 
                Federal Government to become the model employer it can 
                and should be.

                My Administration has also taken significant action to 
                provide student debt relief--giving our public servants 
                some well-deserved breathing room. I fixed the Public 
                Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which was designed to 
                make sure public servants could get their student loans 
                forgiven once they made payments for 10 years. When I 
                took office, only 7,000 public servants had

[[Page 41292]]

                had their debts forgiven--it was past time to fix it. 
                Thanks to my Administration's reforms, nearly 876,000 
                public servants have had their student debts forgiven.

                We must do more to protect our Nation's public 
                servants, who provide the expertise necessary for our 
                democracy to function. To guarantee that career civil 
                servants can continue to share their expertise and keep 
                our democracy working, my Administration finalized a 
                rule to protect the jobs of 2.2 million career civil 
                servants--no matter who is in office.

                Meanwhile, my Administration is working to empower and 
                strengthen the career Federal workforce more than ever 
                before. My Budget includes a focus on hiring more 
                public servants into mission critical jobs, helping 
                provide better services to the American people.

                This week, I hope all the public servants feel proud. 
                Across the country, we are seeing new shovels in the 
                ground, people going to work, and families thriving. 
                People are feeling pride in their hometowns and their 
                country again and in knowing that we can get big things 
                done when we work together. We are witnessing the 
                greatest comeback our country has ever known--in no 
                small part because of the hard work and dedication of 
                our Nation's public servants.

                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 May 5 through 
                May 11, 2024, as Public Service Recognition Week. I 
                call upon all Americans to celebrate public servants 
                and their contributions this week and throughout the 
                year.

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

[FR Doc. 2024-10526
Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P