‘I call on all Americans to celebrate public servants’: President Biden hails officials who ‘do extraordinary things to make our lives better’
President Joe Biden has hailed public servants as “the lifeblood of our democracy” as he signed a proclamation to mark the nation’s public service recognition week.
In a statement released on 29 April, Biden called on the country to celebrate the “millions of public workers at all levels of government who do extraordinary things to make our lives better and our country stronger” across federal, state, tribal, and local public services.
Public servants make crucial contributions in every community in America, Biden’s proclamation said. “They educate our children, keep our communities safe, defend our country, deliver our mail, maintain our roads and bridges, develop cures for diseases, improve sustainability, and care for our veterans – among countless other essential services that keep our country safe and propel us forward. Public servants reflect the full diversity of this nation, and deliver the promise of a government by and for the people.”
The US president said that public servants have displayed remarkable resilience and dedication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, leading vaccination efforts, providing relief to small businesses, and safely reopening schools.
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He highlighted that his administration’s American Rescue Plan had provided US$350bn to state, tribal, and local governments to retain and re-hire public servants and “public servants continue to put these funds to work in ways that transform our communities for the better”. He named 1 May to 7 May as public service recognition week to “recognise the indispensable contributions of our Nation’s public servants”, adding: “We honour all our public workers who perform critical roles across our country and around the globe. I have the greatest honour of serving alongside these workers every day, and I am humbled by their commitment to building a better America.”
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About Richard Johnstone
Richard Johnstone is the executive editor of Global Government Forum, where he helps to produce editorial analysis and insight for the title’s audience of public servants around the world. Before joining GGF, he spent nearly five years at UK-based title Civil Service World, latterly as acting editor, and has worked in public policy journalism throughout his career.
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Does it includes non vaccinated public servants? I mean soon they will no longer be public servants, so maybe not.