119-hres585

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 585 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 585

 Recognizing the threat of extreme weather to children's health and 
well-being, and expressing the sense of Congress that solutions must be 
 rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique 
 vulnerabilities and needs of children.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 16, 2025

 Ms. McClellan (for herself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. 
 Norton, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Mullin, Mr. 
 Thanedar, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
 Huffman, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Titus, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
 Mr. Soto, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Tonko, 
 Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Dexter, Mr. Takano, Ms. McCollum, Ms. 
Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Peters, Ms. Adams, Mr. Carson, 
Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
 and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Recognizing the threat of extreme weather to children's health and 
well-being, and expressing the sense of Congress that solutions must be 
 rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique 
 vulnerabilities and needs of children.

Whereas the summer of 2024 was the hottest summer in recorded history, with 
 life-threatening heat impacting communities across the United States and 
 heat-related deaths rising significantly over the past decade;
Whereas the United States has experienced extraordinary wildfire impacts over 
 the past several years, including unprecedented wildfire smoke and 
 dangerous air quality days across the country;
Whereas there is strong scientific consensus that trends of more frequent and 
 intense extreme weather and worsened air quality will continue to 
 escalate in the coming decades;
Whereas the threats of extreme heat and air pollution are closely related, with 
 extreme heat contributing to conditions conducive to wildfires and hot, 
 sunny days linked to increased formation of ozone pollution;
Whereas babies, children, and adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to the health 
 impacts of extreme weather, including heat-related illness, increased 
 respiratory disease, infectious diseases, storm-related displacement, 
 and adverse psychological outcomes;
Whereas young people's vulnerability to extreme weather and poor air quality is 
 inherent to their developing bodies and behavioral patterns, such as the 
 fact that children take more breaths per minute than adults and are 
 disproportionately exposed to pollutants in the air;
Whereas exposure to extreme heat and air pollution during pregnancy have been 
 linked to adverse birth outcomes that can have lasting and sometimes 
 devastating consequences, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and 
 stillbirth;
Whereas schools across the country are increasingly closing for heat days, and 
 extreme heat is linked to impairment in children's cognition, making it 
 harder for them to learn at school and disrupting academic performance;
Whereas children and adolescents exposed to outdoor labor, including both the 
 children of adult farmworkers and the estimated 500,000 child 
 farmworkers in the United States, are especially vulnerable to the 
 health impacts of extreme heat;
Whereas increased drought occurrence and severity threaten food and water 
 security, and babies, children, adolescents, and pregnant people are 
 more vulnerable to malnutrition;
Whereas young people's respiratory health is threatened by air quality worsened 
 by increasing wildfire smoke, changing dust patterns, and more ozone 
 days;
Whereas children and adolescents are already experiencing a mental health crisis 
 and are more vulnerable than adults to experiencing interruption in 
 education, separation from or harm to caregivers, adverse mental health 
 impacts, and potentially life-altering trauma due to extreme weather 
 disasters;
Whereas the stress of maternal exposure to disasters like hurricanes and 
 wildfires during pregnancy heightens the risk of adverse birth outcomes 
 and adverse mental health outcomes in their children;
Whereas the health of all babies, children, and adolescents is a fundamental 
 building block of a healthy society; and
Whereas young people's unique vulnerabilities to the health harms of extreme 
 weather and air pollution require specifically tailored considerations: 
 Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) expresses the sense that adaptations to and protections 
 from extreme weather conditions must be developed and deployed 
 rapidly and equitably, with consideration for the physical and 
 mental health needs of both the current generation and all 
 future generations of young people;

    (2) expresses the sense that legislation and funding 
 addressing adaptation to and protections from extreme weather 
 conditions must include considerations and solutions tailored 
 to the unique physical and mental health vulnerabilities and 
 needs of babies, children, adolescents, and their families; and

    (3) expresses the sense that adaptive measures may include, 
 but are not limited to--
        (A) accurate, timely, and easily accessible public 
 alerts before, during, and after extreme weather 
 events, such as hazardous air quality days, wildfires, 
 extreme heat, strong storms, or anticipated flooding;
        (B) mutual aid networks, caregiver support, and 
 community resilience programs;
            (C) language-accessible public information 
 campaigns, such as for air quality, extreme heat, or 
 disaster preparedness;
            (D) incorporation of education about the unique 
 vulnerabilities of children and pregnant people to 
 extreme weather into professional training for health 
 care professionals, educators, and child care 
 providers;
        (E) incorporation of perspectives of parents, 
 caregivers, and other child care providers into 
 disaster resilience planning efforts;
        (F) inclusion of education about the consequences 
 of heat exposure and first-aid treatment measures for 
 hyperthermia;
        (G) improved guidance for schools and child care 
 providers on extreme weather, extreme heat, and air 
 pollution for schools;
        (H) improved air filtration systems in homes, 
 schools, and child care facilities to address numerous 
 sources of air pollution, including wildfire smoke, 
 vehicle exhaust, and pollen;
            (I) updated physical and technological 
 infrastructure of schools, child care facilities, and 
 health care delivery systems serving children to 
 withstand extreme weather disruption;
        (J) expanded access to public shaded green space, 
 particularly in urban heat islands;
        (K) expanded access to safe places for children and 
 families during extreme weather and air pollution 
 events, such as indoor play spaces, child-friendly 
 cooling centers, and child-friendly ``clean rooms'' 
 during wildfire smoke events;
            (L) access to diapers, baby bottles and formula, 
 safe and hygienic nursing spaces, and other critical 
 supplies for babies in spaces where families may 
 congregate during and after extreme weather, such as 
 evacuation centers, emergency shelters, and cooling 
 centers;
            (M) distribution of infant feeding kits before, 
 during, and after emergencies;
        (N) adequate shade at playgrounds and school bus 
 stops;
        (O) distribution of appropriate child-sized masks 
 during wildfire smoke events or days of unhealthy air 
 quality; and
        (P) expanded access to hydration and refilling 
 stations.
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