Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2262 To prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental health professionals. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 10, 2019 Mrs. LAWRENCE (for herself, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental health professionals. 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 The Congress finds as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2262 IH (1) The environmental health workforce is vital 1 to protecting the health and safety of the public. 2 (2) For years, State and local governmental 3 public health agencies have reported substantial 4 workforce losses and other challenges to the environ- 5 mental health workforce. 6 (3) According to the Association of State and 7 Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Na- 8 tional Association of County and City Health Offi- 9 cials (NACCHO), more than 50,600 State and local 10 environmental health workforce jobs have been lost 11 since 2008. This represents approximately 22 per- 12 cent of the total State and local environmental 13 health workforce. 14 (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby 15 Boomer Generation will lead to a further decrease in 16 the environmental health workforce. 17 (5) Currently, only 28 States require a creden- 18 tial for environmental health workers that is an im- 19 partial, third-party endorsement of an individual’s 20 professional knowledge and experience. 21 (6) Educating and training existing and new 22 environmental health professionals should be a na- 23 tional public health goal. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2262 IH SEC. 3. MODEL STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR 1 CREDENTIALING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 2 WORKERS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 5 Human Services, in coordination with appropriate na- 6 tional professional organizations, Federal, State, local, 7 and tribal governmental agencies, and private-sector and 8 nongovernmental entities, shall develop model standards 9 and guidelines for credentialing environmental health 10 workers. 11 (b) PROVISION OF STANDARDS AND TECHNICAL AS- 12 SISTANCE.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services 13 shall provide to State, local, and tribal governments— 14 (1) the model standards and guidelines devel- 15 oped under subsection (a); and 16 (2) technical assistance in credentialing envi- 17 ronmental health workers. 18 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 19 MENT PLAN. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that programs and ac- 21 tivities (including education, training, and payment pro- 22 grams) of the Department of Health and Human Services 23 for developing the environmental health workforce meet 24 national needs, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2262 IH ices shall develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan 1 for such programs and activities that— 2 (1) includes performance measures to more 3 clearly determine the extent to which these programs 4 and activities are meeting the Department’s stra- 5 tegic goal of strengthening the environmental health 6 workforce; 7 (2) identifies and communicates to stakeholders 8 any gaps between existing programs and activities 9 and future environmental health workforce needs 10 identified in workforce projections of the Health Re- 11 sources and Services Administration; 12 (3) identifies actions needed to address such 13 identified gaps; and 14 (4) identifies any additional statutory authority 15 that is needed by the Department to implement such 16 identified actions. 17 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 18 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 19 retary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the 20 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 21 the Senate, and to the Committees on Energy and Com- 22 merce and Education and Labor of the House of Rep- 23 resentatives, the plan developed under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2262 IH SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 1 MENT REPORT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 3 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 4 of the United States shall examine and identify best prac- 5 tices in 6 States (as described in subsection (b)) related 6 to training and credentialing requirements for environ- 7 mental health workers and submit to the Committee on 8 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 9 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 10 of Representatives a report that includes information con- 11 cerning— 12 (1) types of environmental health workers em- 13 ployed at State, local, and city health departments 14 and independent environmental health agencies; 15 (2) educational backgrounds of environmental 16 health workers; 17 (3) whether environmental health workers are 18 credentialed or registered, and what type of creden- 19 tial or registration each worker has received; 20 (4) State requirements for continuing education 21 for environmental health workers; 22 (5) whether State, local, and city health depart- 23 ments and independent environmental health agen- 24 cies track continuing education units for their envi- 25 ronmental health workers; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2262 IH (6) how frequently any exam required to qualify 1 environmental health workers is updated and re- 2 viewed to ensure that the exam is consistent with 3 current law. 4 (b) SELECTION OF STATES.—The report described in 5 subsection (a) shall be based upon the examination of such 6 best practices with respect to 3 States that have 7 credentialing requirements for environmental health work- 8 ers (such as Maryland, Ohio, and Washington) and 3 9 States that do not have such requirements (such as Indi- 10 ana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania). 11 SEC. 6. PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS. 12 Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 13 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended in paragraph (3)(B)— 14 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 15 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 16 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(iii) a full-time job as an environ- 19 mental health worker (as defined in section 20 7 of the Environmental Health Workforce 21 Act of 2019) who is accredited, certified, 22 or licensed in accordance with applicable 23 law.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2262 IH SEC. 7. DEFINITION. 1 In this Act, the terms ‘‘environmental health worker’’ 2 and ‘‘environmental health workforce’’ refer to public 3 health workers who investigate and assess hazardous envi- 4 ronmental agents in various environmental settings and 5 develop, promote, and enforce guidelines, policies, and 6 interventions to control such hazards. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2262.IH H2262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS