[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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