[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 42329-42331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10757]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 42329]]

                Proclamation 10754 of May 10, 2024

                
National Defense Transportation Day and National 
                Transportation Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Defense Transportation Day and National 
                Transportation Week, we recommit to embarking on an 
                infrastructure decade. Because the stronger and safer 
                our infrastructure is, the stronger and safer we are as 
                a Nation.

                America used to have the best infrastructure in the 
                world. But for years, we stopped investing in our 
                infrastructure and our workers. We embraced trickle-
                down economics, shipping jobs overseas to the cheapest 
                places in the world for labor and importing low-quality 
                products back home. It never worked. Trickle-down 
                economics hollowed out the middle class, left America's 
                workers behind, and kept our Nation's infrastructure 
                stuck in the past.

                That is why I signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure 
                Law--a once-in-a-generation investment in American 
                infrastructure and the largest investment in public 
                transit in history. Over 51,000 new projects are 
                transforming our communities--including modernizing our 
                rail infrastructure and ports, fixing our roads and 
                bridges, bringing public transportation to more 
                communities, providing high-speed internet all over 
                America, and more. These investments will make our 
                Nation safer--from decreasing traffic and crashes to 
                facilitating quicker responses from emergency 
                responders when every minute counts. It also means 
                goods will be shipped more quickly and commerce will 
                flow more freely, ensuring our military, business, and 
                all Americans have what they need on demand. We are 
                doing all this work with American products and American 
                workers. To date, the economy has created over 15 
                million jobs since the beginning of my Administration, 
                including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.

                I also signed the CHIPS and Science Act to bring the 
                manufacturing of semiconductors back home. 
                Semiconductors are those tiny chips that power 
                everything from automobiles and smartphones to 
                satellites and weapons systems--and when I came into 
                office, our country was only producing 10 percent of 
                them, leaving our markets and national security 
                vulnerable. I was determined to turn that around, and 
                thanks to my Administration's investment in 
                semiconductors, private companies have invested over 
                $395 billion to bring semiconductor manufacturing back 
                to America, creating tens of thousands of jobs across 
                the country.

[[Page 42330]]

                On top of this, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act--
                the most significant climate investment in the history 
                of the world--to build America's clean energy future 
                here at home. We are building a national network of 
                electric vehicle chargers while providing tax credits 
                for consumers to buy electric cars. So far, we have 
                quadrupled the number of electric vehicles sold, and 
                11,000 dealerships have now signed up to sell more. We 
                are also modernizing our Nation's electric grid so that 
                Americans have access to power even when extreme 
                weather hits. Like I have often said, when I think of 
                climate, I think of jobs--and these investments in our 
                Nation's clean energy market are providing Americans 
                with good-paying jobs in their hometowns. At the same 
                time, we are working with industry partners to 
                implement the Biden Trucking Action Plan, which helps 
                keep our Nation's truck drivers safe.

                My Administration is working to build an America for 
                all Americans, and we are making sure that these new 
                infrastructure projects benefit our communities. When 
                our country began building highways, they would cut 
                straight through communities, especially ones with 
                Black or Brown residents, dividing and destroying 
                entire neighborhoods. To address this harmful legacy 
                and unify these communities once again, my 
                Administration launched the Reconnecting Communities 
                Pilot Program--the first-ever Federal initiative to cap 
                highways and create new green spaces that connect 
                neighborhoods. We are leaving no one behind, opening 
                new doors of opportunity, and making sure every 
                community is treated with the dignity and respect they 
                deserve.

                Meanwhile, we are making sure that as we rebuild 
                America, we are making our infrastructure more 
                resilient to threats like extreme weather and cyber-
                attacks--upfront and by design through new policy like 
                the National Security Memorandum on Critical 
                Infrastructure Security and Resilience (NSM-22). Under 
                the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone, we have 
                delivered $50 billion for infrastructure resilience--
                including nearly $9 billion to make our transportation 
                system stronger--which will help keep Americans safe 
                and protect our national security.

                In thousands of cities and towns across America, our 
                workers are writing the greatest comeback story ever 
                told. They are getting shovels in the ground and 
                operating the cranes in the sky and are hard at work 
                rebuilding our Nation's infrastructure. All the while, 
                they are bringing pride back to our communities and our 
                Nation because they are proving we can still get big 
                things done when we work together. That is what America 
                is all about--building a future of possibilities, 
                investing in all of America and in all Americans, and 
                making sure everyone has a fair shot.

                In recognition of the ongoing contributions of our 
                Nation's transportation system and in honor of the 
                devoted professionals who work to sustain its tradition 
                of excellence, the United States Congress has 
                requested, by joint resolution approved May 16, 1957, 
                as amended (36 U.S.C. 120), that the President 
                designate the third Friday in May of each year as 
                ``National Defense Transportation Day'' and, by joint 
                resolution approved May 14, 1962 (36 U.S.C. 133), that 
                the week in which that Friday falls be designated as 
                ``National Transportation Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, do hereby proclaim 
                Friday, May 17, 2024, as National Defense 
                Transportation Day and May 12 through May 18, 2024, as 
                National Transportation Week. I urge all Americans to 
                observe these occasions with appropriate ceremonies, 
                programs, and activities as we show our appreciation to 
                those who build and operate our Nation's transportation 
                systems.

[[Page 42331]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth 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. 2024-10757
Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P