119-hres568

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 568 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 568

Recognizing that climate change poses a growing threat to public health 
 and necessitates coordinated action to mitigate its impacts and 
safeguard the health and well-being of all people in the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 10, 2025

Ms. Barragan (for herself, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Schneider, Mr. 
 Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 
 Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, and Mr. Torres of New York) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural 
Resources, and Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently 
 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Recognizing that climate change poses a growing threat to public health 
 and necessitates coordinated action to mitigate its impacts and 
safeguard the health and well-being of all people in the United States.

Whereas climate change is the most significant threat to human health in the 
 21st century, as affirmed by a broad scientific consensus, including 
 more than 200 medical journals;
Whereas climate change is driving illness, injury, displacement, and death 
 across the United States, including--

    (1) by worsening respiratory and allergy-related illnesses and 
contributing to an increase in cancer risks through climate change fueled-
increases in air pollution, longer pollen seasons, and increased exposure 
to wildfire smoke, ground-level ozone, and fine particulate matter that 
threaten the health of over 150,000,000 people in the United States living 
in areas with unhealthy air;

    (2) by increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, 
and strokes, often worsened by extreme heat waves;

    (3) by increasing direct and indirect behavioral and mental health 
complications, including pre-disaster anxiety, post-traumatic stress 
disorder, depression, substance use disorder, domestic violence, and 
suicidality, linked to climate-driven disasters with children, pregnant 
individuals, people living in high-risk zones, communities of color, and 
low-income communities bearing the brunt of long-term psychological and 
emotional harm;

    (4) by disproportionately increasing the rates of homelessness and 
displacement among infants and young children, who face the highest risk of 
homelessness from climate disasters when living in substandard housing or 
high-risk zones;

    (5) by increasing the prevalence of food-, insect-, and water-borne 
diseases, as climate change expands the range and seasonality of vectors, 
while flooding and warming accelerate microbial contamination of food and 
drinking water;

    (6) by increasing water-borne pathogens, which already cause over 
7,000,000 illnesses, 118,000 hospitalizations, and 6,600 deaths annually in 
the United States, a burden that is expected to rise as climate-driven 
extreme weather and warming destabilize water and sanitation systems;

    (7) by heightening the risk of pregnancy-related complications, 
including still birth and preterm birth, which studies show can increase by 
1 to 2 percent for each additional day of extreme heat exposure and 
mounting death and disability resulting from extreme weather events that 
continue to displace and endanger millions of people in the United States 
annually; and

    (8) by increasing the prevalence of extreme weather events, which cause 
death and injuries and displace and endanger millions of people in the 
United States annually;

Whereas people with disabilities are 2 to 4 times more likely to die or be 
 injured during climate-related disasters, including heatwaves, 
 hurricanes, and floods, due to evacuation barriers, medical equipment 
 failures, and lack of accessible emergency infrastructure;
Whereas historically underserved communities, including post-industrial regions, 
 rural areas, Tribal nations, low-income and working-class neighborhoods, 
 communities of color, and people with disabilities and pre-existing 
 comorbidities, face disproportionate health risks from climate hazards, 
 such as extreme heat, severe storms, drought, and air and water 
 pollution, often due to decades of systemic underinvestment and 
 environmental injustice;
Whereas workers, including those in agriculture, construction, delivery, 
 manufacturing, and warehouse settings, face growing health and safety 
 risks from climate change-related hazards, such as extreme heat, poor 
 air quality, and extreme weather, and require stronger protections, 
 standards, and workplace rights to safeguard their well-being;
Whereas climate change costs the United States economy billions of dollars a 
 year through its wide-ranging harms, including property damage, lost 
 labor productivity, and increased rates of climate-related illness and 
 mental health issues that strain the health care system of the United 
 States;
Whereas, in 2024 alone, the United States experienced 27 separate billion-dollar 
 climate disasters, each compounding both financial and public health 
 burdens on the people of the United States;
Whereas resilient health care organizations that are equipped to remain 
 operational during disasters are essential to their communities' health, 
 safety, recovery, and well-being;
Whereas the health care sector is responsible for approximately 8.5 percent of 
 carbon emissions in the United States, exacerbating the climate crisis 
 and health-related emergencies;
Whereas many emergency preparedness investments, such as improving energy 
 efficiency, upgrading infrastructure, and installing onsite renewable 
 energy and battery storage systems, bring health and sustainability 
 benefits and yield significant operational savings for health care 
 organizations;
Whereas health care organizations, providers, and frontline health workers 
 require sustained Federal support, clear climate adaptation guidance 
 that addresses both physical infrastructure and psychological 
 resilience, and reliable, consistently accessible, and locally relevant 
 data in order to assess local climate risks, identify strengths, 
 resources, support networks, and other key protective factors, prepare 
 for and respond to climate change-related health threats, equitably 
 serve at-risk populations and patients, and expand access and 
 protections for temporarily and permanently displaced populations 
 following a disaster;
Whereas frontline health care workers and providers, particularly those in 
 underserved and resource-limited settings, face increased physical, 
 mental, and psychosocial health risks from climate change-related 
 events, including extreme heat, poor air quality, infectious disease 
 outbreaks, and disaster response demands, and must be equipped with the 
 training, protections, and support necessary to continue delivering safe 
 and equitable care; and
Whereas delivering such support and guidance requires collaboration and 
 coordination across the public health, data infrastructure, health 
 insurance, quality improvement, workforce development, environmental 
 health, and emergency preparedness and response functions across the 
 Department of Health and Human Services and relevant Federal agencies: 
 Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--

    (1) the Department of Health and Human Services should use 
 all practicable means and measures to increase the health 
 sector's climate readiness and response, including increasing 
 the ability to withstand and maintain operations during extreme 
 weather events, strengthening the climate resilience of health 
 infrastructure and supply chains, and lowering the sector's 
 environmental impact;

    (2) funding appropriated by Congress to facilitate energy 
 efficiency retrofits, investments in clean vehicles and onsite 
 renewable energy and storage, and planning for climate 
 resilience projects by health care organizations and community-
 based organizations should be distributed without delay and 
 with particular attention to historically underserved 
 communities and organizations by the responsible Federal 
 agencies;

    (3) the Department of Health and Human Services should 
 prioritize technical assistance, capacity building, and 
 equitable access to funding for Tribal health systems, rural 
 hospitals and clinics, and historically underresourced health 
 care providers to support climate adaptation and preparedness;

    (4) Federal agencies with responsibilities for public 
 health, health care, and environmental data, including the 
 Department of Health and Human Services, should orchestrate and 
 support efforts to close information gaps and synthesize data 
 on the health impacts of climate change, including mitigation 
 and adaptation strategies, and use that information to develop 
 timely, targeted, accessible, and evidence-based education and 
 communication tools on climate-related health threats;

    (5) the Department of Health and Human Services should 
 fully reinstate the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity 
 and the Office of Environmental Justice with the staffing and 
 resources necessary to lead and coordinate departmental 
 efforts, guide equitable implementation, and use all available 
 levers to address the health impacts of climate change for all 
 people in the United States, and particularly for those most at 
 risk;

    (6) critical agencies, staff, and programmatic functions 
 necessary to support the goal of reducing the health impacts of 
 climate change should be fully funded, reinstated, and 
 supported, including--
        (A) those within the Administration for Children 
 and Families;
        (B) the Administration for Strategic Preparedness 
 and Response;
            (C) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality;
            (D) the Indian Health Service;
        (E) those within the Centers for Disease Control 
 and Prevention, such as the National Center for 
 Environmental Health, the Agency for Toxic Substances 
 and Disease Registry, and the National Institute for 
 Occupational Safety and Health; and
        (F) those within the National Institutes of Health, 
 including the Climate Change and Health Initiative;

    (7) investments in climate resilience and health 
 infrastructure should include support for--
        (A) workforce training, job quality standards, and 
 equitable access to careers in public health;
        (B) emergency preparedness and energy and 
 environmental response, particularly for workers from 
 historically underserved communities; and
            (C) community-led mental wellness and resilience 
 building initiatives and mutual aid networks;

    (8) relevant Federal agencies, including the Department of 
 Health and Human Services, should ensure community-based 
 organizations, Tribal governments, and environmental justice 
 groups are meaningfully engaged in climate-health decision-
 making processes, and are provided with the resources and 
 authority necessary to lead and support local resilience 
 efforts, including public health preparedness, infrastructure 
 adaptation, emergency response planning, support for 
 psychological and emotional well-being, and efforts to address 
 climate-related health disparities;

    (9) the Department of Labor, through the Occupational 
 Safety and Health Administration, should promulgate a worker 
 heat protection standard that, in accordance with the best 
 available evidence, establishes the maximum protective program 
 of measures an employer shall implement to regulate employees' 
 exposure to heat stress and prevent heat-related illness and 
 injury that attains the highest degree of health and safety 
 protection to the extent feasible; and

    (10) the Department of Health and Human Services and other 
 relevant Federal agencies should provide annual progress 
 reports to Congress and the public on climate resilience 
 investments, measurable health outcomes, and equitable 
 distribution of resources to vulnerable populations and 
 regions.
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