Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1137 To prioritize education and training for current and future members of the environmental health workforce. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 10, 2019 Ms. STABENOW introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To prioritize education and training for current and future members of the environmental health workforce. 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 ‘‘Environmental Health 4 Workforce Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) The environmental health workforce is vital 8 to protecting the health and safety of the public. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1137 IS (2) For years, State and local governmental 1 public health agencies have reported substantial 2 workforce losses and other challenges to the environ- 3 mental health workforce. 4 (3) According to the Association of State and 5 Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), between 2010 6 and 2016, the size of the public health workforce 7 has decreased by approximately 9,200 workers. 8 (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby 9 Boomer Generation will lead to a further decrease in 10 the environmental health workforce. 11 (5) Currently, only 28 States require a creden- 12 tial for environmental health workers that is an im- 13 partial, third-party endorsement of an individual’s 14 professional knowledge and experience. 15 (6) The 2017 hurricane season has— 16 (A) devastated many cities, counties, and 17 municipalities in Texas, Florida, and Puerto 18 Rico; 19 (B) interrupted safe water supplies; 20 (C) destroyed hospitals, nursing homes, 21 schools, and childcare facilities; 22 (D) disabled electricity power sources that 23 keep our Nation’s food and water safe; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1137 IS (E) flooded homes and commercial build- 1 ings that will have to be remediated from mold. 2 (7) Disasters such as these demonstrate the 3 role of the environmental health workforce in assur- 4 ing that day care centers, schools, hospitals, the 5 water supply, and food establishments are free from 6 hazards that might cause serious illness or death. 7 (8) Educating and training existing and new 8 environmental health workers should be a national 9 public health goal. 10 SEC. 3. MODEL STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR 11 CREDENTIALING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 12 WORKERS. 13 (a) MODEL STANDARDS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 16 Health and Human Services, in coordination with 17 appropriate national professional organizations, Fed- 18 eral, State, local, and tribal governmental agencies, 19 and private sector and nongovernmental entities, 20 shall develop model standards and guidelines for 21 credentialing environmental health workers. 22 (2) PERMISSIBLE CONTENT.—Model standards 23 and guidelines developed under paragraph (1) may 24 include the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1137 IS (A) Environmental health workers should 1 understand basic public health principles and 2 the interdisciplinary nature of environmental 3 health. 4 (B) Environmental health workers should 5 understand environmental protection and envi- 6 ronmental health principles and practices. 7 (C) Environmental health workers should 8 understand basic government functions. 9 (D) Environmental health workers should 10 understand and be sensitive to the different cul- 11 tures found in their institutions and commu- 12 nities. 13 (b) PROVISION OF STANDARDS AND TECHNICAL AS- 14 SISTANCE.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 16 Human Services shall provide to State, local, and 17 tribal governments— 18 (A) the model standards and guidelines de- 19 veloped under subsection (a); and 20 (B) technical assistance in implementing 21 such model standards and guidelines for 22 credentialing environmental health workers, 23 which may include providing additional training 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1137 IS to assist in hiring practices that encourage hir- 1 ing workforce staff who— 2 (i) understand and respond to chang- 3 ing demographics; and 4 (ii) promote under-represented popu- 5 lations in reaching effective health solu- 6 tions. 7 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 8 MENT PLAN. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that programs and ac- 10 tivities (including education, training, and payment pro- 11 grams) administered by the Department of Health and 12 Human Services for developing the environmental health 13 workforce meet national needs, the Secretary of Health 14 and Human Services shall develop a comprehensive and 15 coordinated plan for such programs and activities that— 16 (1) includes performance measures to determine 17 the extent to which these programs and activities are 18 meeting the Department’s strategic goal of strength- 19 ening the environmental health workforce; 20 (2) establishes a strategic goal to strengthen 21 the environmental health workforce using the 22 Healthy People 2020 environmental health work- 23 force objectives of the Department of Health and 24 Human Services as a guide; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1137 IS (3) identifies any gaps in existing programs and 1 activities (as of the date of the plan) with regard to 2 addressing future environmental health workforce 3 needs identified in workforce projections of the 4 Health Resources and Services Administration in 5 collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control 6 and Prevention; 7 (4) recommends actions to address such gaps; 8 (5) identifies best practices to engage under- 9 served communities and promote workforce diversity; 10 and 11 (6) identifies any additional statutory authority 12 that is needed by the Department to implement such 13 actions. 14 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 16 retary of Health and Human Services shall— 17 (1) submit to the Committee on Health, Edu- 18 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and to 19 the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Edu- 20 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives, 21 the plan developed under subsection (a); and 22 (2) post such plan on the website of the De- 23 partment of Health and Human Services. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1137 IS SEC. 5. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 1 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVEL- 2 OPMENT REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 3 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 4 United States shall— 5 (1) examine and identify best practices imple- 6 mented in States that are related to training and 7 credentialing requirements for environmental health 8 workers; and 9 (2) submit to the Committee on Health, Edu- 10 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 11 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 12 of Representatives a report that includes and, where 13 appropriate, evaluates— 14 (A) the types of environmental health 15 workers employed at State and local health de- 16 partments and independent environmental 17 health agencies; 18 (B) the educational backgrounds of such 19 workers; 20 (C) whether such workers are credentialed 21 or registered, and the type of credential or reg- 22 istration as applicable to each worker; 23 (D) the impact of State requirements for 24 continuing education for such workers; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1137 IS (E) the impact of having State and local 1 health departments and independent environ- 2 mental health agencies track continuing edu- 3 cation units for such workers; and 4 (F) the frequency at which a State or local 5 health department or other entity updates and 6 reviews any examination required to qualify or 7 assess environmental health workers to ensure 8 that such examination is consistent with cur- 9 rent law. 10 (b) STUDY ON APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF ENVIRON- 11 MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE AND NATURAL DISASTER 12 PREPAREDNESS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 13 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 14 Human Services shall collaborate with appropriate asso- 15 ciations, organizations, and councils, such as the National 16 Academy of Medicine, to conduct a study on— 17 (1) environmental health in communities before 18 and after natural disasters; and 19 (2) the role of environmental health workers to 20 help improve environmental health. 21 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act, the terms ‘‘environmental health work- 23 ers’’ and ‘‘environmental health workforce’’ refer to public 24 health workers who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1137 IS (1) investigate and assess hazardous environ- 1 mental agents in various environmental settings; and 2 (2) develop, promote, and enforce guidelines, 3 policies, and interventions to control such hazards. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1137.IS S1137 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS