[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2864 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2864
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a
national strategic action plan to assist health professionals in
preparing for and responding to the public health effects of climate
change, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18, 2014
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a
national strategic action plan to assist health professionals 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Climate Change Health Protection and
Promotion Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government, in
cooperation with international, State, tribal, and local governments,
concerned public and private organizations, and citizens, should use
all practicable means and measures--
(1) to assist the efforts of public health and health care
professionals, first responders, States, tribes,
municipalities, and local communities to incorporate measures
to prepare health systems to respond to the impacts of climate
change;
(2) to ensure--
(A) that the Nation's health professionals have
sufficient information to prepare for and respond to
the adverse health impacts of climate change;
(B) the utility and value of scientific research in
advancing understanding of--
(i) the health impacts of climate change;
and
(ii) strategies to prepare for and respond
to the health impacts of climate change;
(C) the identification of communities vulnerable to
the health effects of climate change and the
development of strategic response plans to be carried
out by health professionals for those communities;
(D) the improvement of health status and health
equity through efforts to prepare for and respond to
climate change; and
(E) the inclusion of health policy in the
development of climate change responses;
(3) to encourage further research, interdisciplinary
partnership, and collaboration among stakeholders in order to--
(A) understand and monitor the health impacts of
climate change; and
(B) improve public health knowledge and response
strategies to climate change;
(4) to enhance preparedness activities, and public health
infrastructure, relating to climate change and health;
(5) to encourage each and every American to learn about the
impacts of climate change on health; and
(6) to assist the efforts of developing nations to
incorporate measures to prepare health systems to respond to
the impacts of climate change.
SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act limits the authority provided to or
responsibility conferred on any Federal department or agency by any
provision of any law (including regulations) or authorizes any
violation of any provision of any law (including regulations),
including any health, energy, environmental, transportation, or any
other law or regulation.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN.
(a) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, on the basis of the
best available science, and in consultation pursuant to
paragraph (2), shall publish a strategic action plan to assist
health professionals in preparing for and responding to the
impacts of climate change on public health in the United States
and other nations, particularly developing nations.
(2) Consultation.--In developing or making any revision to
the national strategic action plan, the Secretary shall--
(A) consult with the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of
the National Institutes of Health, the Secretary of
Energy, other appropriate Federal agencies, Indian
tribes, State and local governments, public health
organizations, and scientists, and other interested
stakeholders; and
(B) provide opportunity for public input.
(b) Contents.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Director
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall assist
health professionals in preparing for and responding
effectively and efficiently to the health effects of climate
change through measures including--
(A) developing, improving, integrating, and
maintaining domestic and international disease
surveillance systems and monitoring capacity to respond
to health-related effects of climate change, including
on topics addressing--
(i) water, food, and vector-borne
infectious diseases and climate change;
(ii) pulmonary effects, including responses
to aeroallergens;
(iii) cardiovascular effects, including
impacts of temperature extremes;
(iv) air pollution health effects,
including heightened sensitivity to air
pollution;
(v) hazardous algal blooms;
(vi) mental and behavioral health impacts
of climate change;
(vii) the health of refugees, displaced
persons, and vulnerable communities;
(viii) the implications for communities
vulnerable to health effects of climate change,
as well as strategies for responding to climate
change within these communities; and
(ix) local and community-based health
interventions for climate-related health
impacts;
(B) creating tools for predicting and monitoring
the public health effects of climate change on the
international, national, regional, State, and local
levels, and providing technical support to assist in
their implementation;
(C) developing public health communications
strategies and interventions for extreme weather events
and disaster response situations;
(D) identifying and prioritizing communities and
populations vulnerable to the health effects of climate
change, and determining actions and communication
strategies that should be taken to inform and protect
these communities and populations from the health
effects of climate change;
(E) developing health communication, public
education, and outreach programs aimed at public health
and health care professionals, and the general public,
to promote preparedness and response strategies
relating to climate change and public health, including
the identification of greenhouse gas reduction
behaviors that are health-promoting;
(F) developing academic and regional centers of
excellence devoted to--
(i) researching relationships between
climate change and health;
(ii) expanding and training the public
health workforce to strengthen the capacity of
such workforce to respond to and prepare for
the health effects of climate change;
(iii) creating and supporting academic
fellowships focusing on the health effects of
climate change; and
(iv) training senior health ministry
officials from developing nations to strengthen
the capacity of such nations to--
(I) prepare for and respond to the
health effects of climate change; and
(II) build an international network
of public health professionals with the
necessary climate change knowledge
base;
(G) using techniques, including health impact
assessments, to assess various climate change public
health preparedness and response strategies on
international, national, State, regional, tribal, and
local levels, and make recommendations as to the
strategies that best protect the public health;
(H)(i) assisting in the development,
implementation, and support of State, regional, tribal,
and local preparedness, communication, and response
plans (including with respect to the health departments
of such entities) to anticipate and reduce the health
threats of climate change; and
(ii) acting through the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention or an appropriate
Federal agency, pursuing collaborative efforts to
develop, integrate, and implement such plans;
(I) acting through the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention or an appropriate
Federal agency, creating a program to advance research
as it relates to the effects of climate change on
public health across Federal agencies, including
research to--
(i) identify and assess climate change
health effects preparedness and response
strategies;
(ii) prioritize critical public health
infrastructure projects related to potential
climate change impacts that affect public
health; and
(iii) coordinate preparedness for climate
change health impacts, including the
development of modeling and forecasting tools;
(J) providing technical assistance for the
development, implementation, and support of
preparedness and response plans to anticipate and
reduce the health threats of climate change in
developing nations; and
(K) carrying out other activities determined
appropriate by the Secretary to plan for and respond to
the impacts of climate change on public health.
(c) Revision.--The Secretary shall revise the national strategic
action plan not later than July 1, 2017, and every 4 years thereafter,
to reflect new information collected pursuant to implementation of the
national strategic action plan and otherwise, including information
on--
(1) the status of critical environmental health parameters
and related human health impacts;
(2) the impacts of climate change on public health; and
(3) advances in the development of strategies for preparing
for and responding to the impacts of climate change on public
health.
(d) Implementation.--
(1) Implementation through hhs.--The Secretary shall
exercise the Secretary's authority under this Act and other
Federal statutes to achieve the goals and measures of the
national strategic action plan.
(2) Other public health programs and initiatives.--The
Secretary and Federal officials of other relevant Federal
agencies shall administer public health programs and
initiatives authorized by statutes other than this Act, subject
to the requirements of such statutes, in a manner designed to
achieve the goals of the national strategic action plan.
(3) CDC.--In furtherance of the national strategic action
plan, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shall--
(A) conduct scientific research to assist health
professionals in preparing for and responding to the
impacts of climate change on public health;
(B) provide funding for--
(i) research on the health effects of
climate change; and
(ii) preparedness planning on the
international, national, State, regional, and
local levels to respond to or reduce the burden
of health effects of climate change; and
(C) carry out other activities determined
appropriate by the Director to prepare for and respond
to the impacts of climate change on public health.
SEC. 5. ADVISORY BOARD.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a permanent
science advisory board comprised of not less than 10 and not more than
20 members.
(b) Appointment of Members.--The Secretary shall appoint the
members of the science advisory board from among individuals who--
(1) are recommended by the President of the National
Academy of Sciences; and
(2) have expertise in public health and human services,
climate change, and other relevant disciplines.
(c) Functions.--The science advisory board shall--
(1) provide scientific and technical advice and
recommendations to the Secretary on the domestic and
international impacts of climate change on public health,
populations and regions particularly vulnerable to the effects
of climate change, and strategies and mechanisms to prepare for
and respond to the impacts of climate change on public health;
and
(2) advise the Secretary regarding the best science
available for purposes of issuing the national strategic action
plan.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
(a) Needs Assessment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into, by
not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, an agreement with the National Research Council and the
Institute of Medicine to complete a report that--
(A) assesses the needs for health professionals to
prepare for and respond to climate change impacts on
public health; and
(B) recommends programs to meet those needs.
(2) Submission.--The agreement under paragraph (1) shall
require the completed report to be submitted to Congress and
the Secretary and made publicly available not later than 1 year
after the date of the agreement.
(b) Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Reports.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall offer to enter into,
not later than 6 months after the submission of the report
under subsection (a)(2), an agreement with the National
Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, under which the
National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine will
prepare periodic reports to aid health professionals in
preparing for and responding to the adverse health effects of
climate change that--
(A) review scientific developments on health
impacts of climate change; and
(B) recommend changes to the national strategic
action plan.
(2) Submission.--The agreement under paragraph (1) shall
require a report to be submitted to Congress and the Secretary
and made publicly available not later than July 1, 2016, and
every 4 years thereafter.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Health impact assessment.--The term ``health impact
assessment'' means a combination of procedures, methods, and
tools by which a policy, program, or project may be judged as
to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the
distribution of those effects within the population.
(2) National strategic action plan.--The term ``national
strategic action plan'' means the plan issued and revised under
section 4.
(3) Secretary.--Unless otherwise specified, the term
``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
(b) Appropriations to HHS.--All funds appropriated to carry out
this Act shall be appropriated to the Secretary.
(c) Distribution of Funds by HHS.--In carrying out this Act, the
Secretary may make funds appropriated pursuant to this section
available to--
(1) other departments, agencies, and offices of the Federal
Government;
(2) foreign, State, tribal, and local governments; and
(3) such other entities as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(d) Supplement, Not Replace.--It is the intent of Congress that
funds appropriated to carry out this Act should be used to supplement,
and not replace, existing sources of funding for public health.
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