National Veterans and Military Families Month, 2024

( printed page 87781) Proclamation 10854 of October 31, 2024 National Veterans and Military Families Month, 2024 A Proclamation Each veteran and military family represents a link in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days, unwavering in their devotion to their loved ones who served in uniform. This month, we honor all of our military and veteran families. They too serve and sacrifice to answer our Nation's call to duty. We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay. I often say that, as a Nation, we have many obligations, but only one is truly sacred: to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way and to care for them and their families when they come home. We are continually working to make sure that our Nation's veterans and service members have access to the benefits and care they deserve. I have signed more than 34 bipartisan bills to better support our service members, veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors. One of those bills, the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, was the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans and survivors in nearly 30 years. To date, more than 1.1 million veterans and over 11,000 survivors are now receiving new service-connected disability benefits, and over 796,000 veterans have newly enrolled in Veterans Affairs health care since the law was enacted. This law is helping families who lost loved ones to toxic illness gain access to critical resources and services, including monthly benefits, educational assistance, home loans, and more. Actions outlined in our national strategy to prevent military and veteran suicide are tackling the root causes of the military and veteran suicide crisis, including by better supporting families through the Governor's Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families. And we are making progress in eliminating homelessness and…