[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 42335-42337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10765]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 42335]]
Proclamation 10756 of May 10, 2024
National Women's Health Week, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Women comprise more than half our population, but
women's health is understudied, and its research is
vastly underfunded. Too many of our medications,
treatments, and textbooks are instead based on men's
needs. As a result, women spend more of their lives in
poor health--too often having their symptoms dismissed,
leaving medical appointments with more questions than
answers, or waiting years to get the diagnosis and
treatment they need. During National Women's Health
Week, we commit to changing that by investing in
women's health, closing the research gap, and getting
every woman in this country access to the affordable,
quality health care that she deserves.
Last year, the First Lady and I were proud to launch
the first-ever White House Initiative on Women's Health
Research, pioneering the next generation of medical
breakthroughs and transforming the care that women
receive. We jumpstarted this effort with an investment
of $200 million to the National Institutes of Health
specifically for cross-cutting research on women's
health, and I called on the Congress to deliver $12
billion more to accelerate this work. These investments
will spur much-needed research into conditions that
affect women uniquely, like menopause and
endometriosis, or that affect women differently or at
higher rates, like heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Further, I issued the most comprehensive set of
executive actions ever to expand and improve research
on women's health, ensuring that women's health gets
integrated and prioritized across Federal agencies.
These actions will galvanize new research on a wide
range of topics and help prevent, diagnose, and treat
women's health conditions once and for all. Meanwhile,
the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is
investing $100 million in its first-ever ``Sprint for
Women's Health'' to radically accelerate the next
generation of discoveries.
Early in the Administration, the First Lady and I re-
ignited the Cancer Moonshot initiative to end cancer as
we know it--building a future where the one in three
women who will be diagnosed with cancer in their
lifetimes have access to the best treatments and care.
Screening is an essential tool for survival; my
Administration has boosted funding for breast and
cervical cancer early detection and other diagnostic
services for low-income Americans and those who do not
have adequate insurance so everyone can access life-
saving preventive care. We are also funding new
research into heart disease--the top killer of women in
America--while enacting a national strategy to help
everyone access healthier food and get more exercise.
Health care should be a right in America, not a
privilege. As Vice President, I helped pass the
Affordable Care Act, expanding coverage to millions of
women and guaranteeing that no one can be denied health
insurance due to a pre-existing condition or pregnancy.
It also ensures that important preventative services,
like Pap smears and mammograms, are covered. As
President, I am not only protecting the Affordable Care
Act--I am strengthening it, saving millions of working
families an average of $800 per year on their health
insurance premiums. We are also cracking down on junk
insurance so that people are not scammed into low-
quality coverage. We
[[Page 42336]]
finally secured Medicare the ability to negotiate lower
prescription drug prices. We have slashed the cost of
insulin for seniors on Medicare to just $35, down from
as high as $400. Starting next year, we are capping
out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 per
year for 30 million women on Medicare, even for drugs
that can cost many times that amount.
Even as we have made progress in expanding access to
care and lowering health care costs, the threat to
women's reproductive health is greater today than at
any time in generations. In the wake of the Supreme
Court overturning Roe v. Wade, millions of women live
in States with dangerous abortion bans that put women's
health and lives at risk, force them to travel out of
State for care, and threaten doctors with jail time. We
are seeing threats to a broad range of reproductive
health care, from contraception to fertility services,
undermining women's ability to make decisions about
their own futures and families. These are the most
personal and private health care decisions that a
person can make and should be left to a woman and her
doctor, not to politicians. I have signed three
Executive Orders to protect access to reproductive
health care and will continue to take action to defend
reproductive freedom. I will continue to call on the
Congress to send me a bill supporting the right to
choose. I will sign it and restore Roe v. Wade as the
Federal law of the land.
We have also taken steps to protect the health and
lives of our Nation's mothers, and data shows that
rates of maternal mortality are decreasing across the
country. Thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris'
efforts, 46 States now ensure access to Medicaid
postpartum coverage for 12 months after childbirth. We
will continue to work toward guaranteeing access to
essential care before, during, and after childbirth so
that we can finally end the unconscionable maternal
mortality crisis that we have in this country today. To
support new moms struggling with postpartum depression,
anxiety, or a substance use disorder, my Administration
has launched the National Maternal Mental Health
Hotline so that mothers can get confidential help from
a professional right away by calling 1-833-TLC-MAMA.
Meanwhile, we are supporting the healing and recovery
of domestic and sexual violence survivors. I wrote the
original Violence Against Women Act years ago; today,
we are bringing its funding to record levels,
supporting shelters and rape crisis centers, addressing
the needs of LGBTQI+ people and other underserved
groups, and broadening protections for survivors.
This Women's Health Week, I encourage women across
America to make their health a priority, and I promise
that we are making it a national priority as well. To
realize our potential as a land of possibilities, we
have to protect and support the health of every woman
and girl in our Nation and build a health care system
that puts women, their lives, and their lived
experiences at its center.
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 12 through
May 18, 2024, as National Women's Health Week. During
this week, I encourage all Americans to join us in a
collective effort to improve and support the health of
women and girls and promote health equity for all. I
encourage all women and girls to prioritize their
health and catch up on any missed screenings, routine
care, and vaccines.
[[Page 42337]]
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. 2024-10765
Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P