I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3271 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and imple- ment a national strategic action plan and program to assist health professionals and systems in preparing for and responding to the public health effects of climate change, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2021 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. JONES, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MENG, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. COHEN, Ms. STRICKLAND, and Ms. MOORE of Wis- consin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a national strategic action plan and program to assist health professionals and systems in preparing for and responding to the public health effects of climate change, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Health 4 Protection and Promotion Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3271 IH SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLI- 1 MATE CHANGE. 2 (a) FINDINGS.—The U.S. Global Change Research 3 Program Climate and Health Assessment states that— 4 (1) the impacts of human-induced climate 5 change are increasing nationwide; 6 (2) rising greenhouse gas concentrations result 7 in increases in temperature, changes in precipitation, 8 increases in the frequency and intensity of some ex- 9 treme weather events, and rising sea levels; 10 (3) these climate change impacts endanger our 11 health by affecting our food and water sources, the 12 air we breathe, the weather we experience, and our 13 interactions with the built and natural environments; 14 and 15 (4) as the climate continues to change, the risks 16 to human health continue to grow. 17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 18 gress that— 19 (1) climate change poses threats to the United 20 States and globally through its impacts on society, 21 the economy, the physical environment, and national 22 security; 23 (2) climate change health threats are growing 24 in scale and severity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3271 IH (3) climate change disproportionately affects 1 people of the United States who are economically 2 disadvantaged, belong to communities of color, or 3 have other social and health vulnerabilities; 4 (4) climate change impacts anywhere in the 5 world can threaten the health of people of the 6 United States through such pathways as infectious 7 disease pandemics, climate-driven migration and dis- 8 placement, and social, economic, and political disrup- 9 tion; and 10 (5) the Federal Government, in cooperation 11 with international, State, Tribal, and local govern- 12 ments, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, 13 and individuals, should use all practicable means 14 and measures— 15 (A) to assist the efforts of public health 16 and health care professionals, first responders, 17 health care systems, States, the District of Co- 18 lumbia, territories, municipalities, and Native 19 American and local communities to incorporate 20 measures to prepare public health and health 21 care systems to respond to the impacts of cli- 22 mate change; 23 (B) to ensure— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3271 IH (i) that the Nation’s public health and 1 health care professionals have sufficient in- 2 formation to prepare for and respond to 3 the adverse health impacts of climate 4 change; 5 (ii) the application of scientific re- 6 search in advancing understanding of— 7 (I) the health impacts of climate 8 change; and 9 (II) strategies to prepare for and 10 respond to the health impacts of cli- 11 mate change; 12 (iii) the identification of communities 13 and populations vulnerable to the health 14 impacts of climate change, including in- 15 fants, children, pregnant women, the elder- 16 ly, individuals with disabilities or pre-exist- 17 ing illnesses, low-income populations, com- 18 munities of color, those who experience en- 19 vironmental injustices, and unhoused indi- 20 viduals; 21 (iv) the development of strategic re- 22 sponse plans to be carried out by public 23 health and health care professionals for the 24 communities described in clause (iii); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3271 IH (v) the improvement of health status 1 and health equity through efforts to pre- 2 pare for and respond to climate change; 3 and 4 (vi) the inclusion of health impacts in 5 the development of climate change re- 6 sponses; 7 (C) to encourage further research, inter- 8 disciplinary partnership, and collaboration 9 among stakeholders in order to— 10 (i) understand and monitor the health 11 impacts of climate change, including men- 12 tal health impacts; 13 (ii) improve public health knowledge 14 and response strategies to climate change; 15 (iii) identify actions and policies that 16 are beneficial to health and that mitigate 17 climate health impacts; and 18 (iv) develop strategies to address 19 water-, food-, and vector-borne infectious 20 diseases and other public health emer- 21 gencies; 22 (D) to enhance preparedness activities, and 23 health care and public health infrastructure, re- 24 lating to climate change and health; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3271 IH (E) to encourage each and every commu- 1 nity to learn about the impacts of climate 2 change on health; and 3 (F) to assist the efforts of developing 4 countries to incorporate measures to prepare 5 public health and health care systems to re- 6 spond to the impacts of climate change. 7 SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 8 Nothing in this Act limits the authority provided to 9 or responsibility conferred on any Federal department or 10 agency by any provision of any law (including regulations) 11 or authorizes any violation of any provision of any law (in- 12 cluding regulations), including any health, energy, envi- 13 ronmental, transportation, or any other law or regulation. 14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN AND PRO- 15 GRAM. 16 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 19 Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act 20 as the ‘‘Secretary’’), on the basis of the best avail- 21 able science, and in consultation pursuant to para- 22 graph (2), shall publish a national strategic action 23 plan and establish a climate and health program to 24 ensure that public health and health care systems 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3271 IH are prepared for and can respond to the impacts of 1 climate change on health in the United States and 2 other countries. 3 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing or making 4 any revision to the national strategic action plan and 5 program, the Secretary shall— 6 (A) consult with the Director of the Cen- 7 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the 8 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 9 Agency, the Director of the National Institutes 10 of Health, the Undersecretary of Commerce for 11 Oceans & Atmosphere, the Administrator of the 12 National Aeronautics and Space Administra- 13 tion, the Director of the Indian Health Service, 14 the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 15 State, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 16 National Environmental Justice Advisory Coun- 17 cil, the heads of other appropriate Federal 18 agencies, Tribal governments, and State and 19 local government officials; and 20 (B) provide meaningful opportunity for en- 21 gagement, comment, and consultation with rel- 22 evant public stakeholders, particularly rep- 23 resentatives of at-risk populations, environ- 24 mental justice communities, Tribal commu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3271 IH nities, public health organizations, and sci- 1 entists. 2 (b) ACTIVITIES.— 3 (1) NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 6 retary, acting through the Director of the Cen- 7 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 8 collaboration with other Federal agencies as ap- 9 propriate, shall, on the basis of the best avail- 10 able science, and in consultation with the enti- 11 ties described in subsection (a)(2)(A), publish a 12 national strategic action plan under subsection 13 (a)(1) to guide the climate and health program 14 and assist public health and health care profes- 15 sionals in preparing for and responding to the 16 impacts of climate change on public health in 17 the United States and other countries, particu- 18 larly developing countries. 19 (B) NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN 20 COMPONENTS.—The national strategic plan 21 under subsection (a)(1) shall include an assess- 22 ment of the health system capacity of the 23 United States to address climate change, in- 24 cluding— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3271 IH (i) identifying and prioritizing commu- 1 nities and populations vulnerable to the 2 health impacts of climate change; 3 (ii) identifying the link between envi- 4 ronmental injustice and vulnerability to the 5 impacts of climate change and prioritizing 6 those who have been harmed by environ- 7 mental and climate injustice; 8 (iii) providing outreach and commu- 9 nication aimed at public health and health 10 care professionals and the public to pro- 11 mote preparedness and response strategies; 12 (iv) providing for programs across 13 Federal agencies to advance research re- 14 lated to the impacts of climate change on 15 health; 16 (v) identifying and assessing existing 17 preparedness and response strategies for 18 the health impacts of climate change; 19 (vi) prioritizing critical public health 20 and health care infrastructure projects; 21 (vii) providing modeling and fore- 22 casting tools of climate change health im- 23 pacts, including local impacts, where fea- 24 sible; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3271 IH (viii) establishing academic and re- 1 gional centers of excellence; 2 (ix) providing technical assistance and 3 support for preparedness and response 4 plans for the health threats of climate 5 change in States, municipalities, terri- 6 tories, Indian Tribes, and developing coun- 7 tries; and 8 (x) developing, improving, integrating, 9 and maintaining domestic and inter- 10 national disease surveillance systems and 11 monitoring capacity to respond to health- 12 related impacts of climate change, includ- 13 ing on topics addressing— 14 (I) water-, food-, and vector- 15 borne infectious diseases and climate 16 change; 17 (II) pulmonary effects, including 18 responses to aeroallergens and toxic 19 exposures; 20 (III) cardiovascular effects, in- 21 cluding impacts of temperature ex- 22 tremes; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3271 IH (IV) air pollution health effects, 1 including heightened sensitivity to air 2 pollution; 3 (V) harmful algal blooms; 4 (VI) mental and behavioral 5 health impacts of climate change; 6 (VII) the health of migrants, ref- 7 ugees, displaced persons, and vulner- 8 able communities; 9 (VIII) the implications for com- 10 munities and populations vulnerable 11 to the health effects of climate 12 change, as well as strategies for re- 13 sponding to climate change within 14 such communities; 15 (IX) Tribal, local, and commu- 16 nity-based health interventions for cli- 17 mate-related health impacts; 18 (X) extreme heat and weather 19 events, including drought; 20 (XI) decreased nutritional value 21 of crops; and 22 (XII) disruptions in access to 23 routine and acute medical care. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3271 IH (2) CLIMATE AND HEALTH PROGRAM.—The 1 Secretary, acting through the Director of the Cen- 2 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in col- 3 laboration with other Federal agencies, as appro- 4 priate, shall ensure that the climate and health pro- 5 gram established under this section addresses pri- 6 ority health actions, including by doing each of the 7 following: 8 (A) Serve as a credible source of informa- 9 tion on the physical, mental, and behavioral 10 health consequences of climate change for the 11 United States population and globally. 12 (B) Track data on environmental condi- 13 tions, disease risks, and disease occurrence re- 14 lated to climate change. 15 (C) Expand capacity for modeling and 16 forecasting health effects that may be climate- 17 related. 18 (D) Enhance the science base to better un- 19 derstand the relationship between climate 20 change and health outcomes. 21 (E) Identify locations and population 22 groups at greatest risk for specific health 23 threats and effects, such as increased heat-re- 24 lated illnesses and injuries, degraded air and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3271.IH H3271 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3271 IH water quality, food or water-related infections, 1 vector-borne illnesses, pulmonary and cardio- 2 vascular effects, mental and behavioral health 3 effects, and food, water, and nutrient insecu- 4 rity. 5 (F) Communicate the health-related as- 6 pects of climate change, including risks an [Text truncated for display. 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