[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9646 of September 28, 2017

National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we celebrate the
many contributions of American workers with disabilities and reaffirm
our admiration of the skills and talents they bring to today's
workplace.
Every American who is willing and able to work should have the
opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. This includes
the 30 million American adults with disabilities. Many Americans with
disabilities struggle to find employment opportunities, despite the
wealth of skills they have to offer. In 2016, only 27.7 percent of
working-age Americans with disabilities were employed. More employers
should recognize the fresh perspectives and skills these men and women
can add to an innovation-focused workforce. They are an incredible asset
to our economy. Our goal is to help ensure that they experience the
independence, economic self-sufficiency, pride, and community that come
with a job.
Creating and maintaining a strong and robust American workforce is one
of my Administration's top priorities. We will ensure that people who
want to work have the support they need to remain on the job. Employees,
along with their employers, their families, and the economy all suffer
when they are forced to leave the labor force due to illness or
accident. We must be able to act quickly to support these workers in
their time of need. I, therefore, have directed the Department of Labor,
the Social Security Administration, and other Federal agencies to
identify effective strategies to help people stay at work or return to
work, focusing on early intervention with Americans recently rendered
disabled due to injury or a health condition.
We are committed to giving all Americans opportunities to gain the
skills they need to fill the jobs of the 21st century. We know that
includes Americans with disabilities, who want to work, provide for
themselves and their families, contribute to their communities, and

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build up our Nation. We will stand alongside them to help turn their
American Dreams into reality.
The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved August 11, 1945, as amended
(36 U.S.C. 121), has designated October of each year as ``National
Disability Employment Awareness Month.''
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim October 2017 as National Disability
Employment Awareness Month. I call upon government and labor leaders,
employers, and the great people of the United States to recognize the
month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities across our
land.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
second.
DONALD J. TRUMP