A bill to improve Arctic health.

Summary: Better Health in the Arctic Act - Directs the Arctic Research Commission, in collaboration with federal health agencies, to prepare and submit to Congress a two-year study to examine the science base, gaps in knowledge, and strategies for the prevention and treatment of mental, behavioral, and physical health problems faced by populations in the Arctic, with a focus on Alaska.

Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) in collaboration with other governmental agencies and private and nonprofit entities involved in Arctic health issues, to develop a national Arctic health science policy; and (2) in developing the policy, to review and take into consideration the National Arctic Health Science Policy developed by the American Public Health Association Task Force in 1984.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a Desk for Arctic Health within the Office of the Director's Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which shall: (1) work with the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee to ensure adequate health representation from federal agencies; (2) collaborate and consult with governmental entities and U.S. nongovernmental organizations involved in Arctic health issues; and (3) collaborate with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on indigenous Arctic people health issues.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish a program at CDC's National Center of Environmental Health to foster advances and help provide technical support in the field of Arctic health impact assessments.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Better Health in the Arctic Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is an Arctic nation with--
                    (A) an approximately 700-mile border on the Arctic 
                Ocean;
                    (B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land above the 
                Arctic Circle; and
                    (C) an even broader area that is defined as Arctic 
                by temperature, including the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
                Islands.
            (2) The Arctic region of the United States--
                    (A) is known to the indigenous population as 
                Inuvikput, or the ``place where we live''; and
                    (B) is home to an indigenous population that has 
                subsisted for millennia on the abundance of marine 
                mammals, fish, and wildlife, many species of which are 
                unique to the Arctic region.
            (3) Since 1959, temperatures in the Arctic region of the 
        United States have warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, a rate of 
        increase more than twice the global average. The Arctic ice 
        pack is rapidly diminishing and thinning, and the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the Arctic 
        Ocean may be ice free during the summer months in as few as 30 
        years.
            (4) These changes are having a significant impact on the 
        communities and ecosystems of the indigenous people of the 
        Arctic, and the marine mammals, fish, and wildlife upon which 
        the indigenous population depends.
            (5) The negative impacts of climate change include health 
        problems, which are even more exacerbated among indigenous 
        people of the North.
            (6) Northern people have shorter life expectancy and 
        increased mortality related to suicide and injuries, when 
        compared to populations living in more moderate climates.
            (7) Among the greatest health disparities affecting Arctic 
        people are higher rates of alcohol abuse, Fetal Alcohol 
        Spectrum Disorder (FASD), diabetes, high blood pressure, 
        injury, and cancer. The FASD prevalence rate among Alaska 
        Native people (4.8) is 3\1/2\ times that for all Alaskans 
        (1.4).
            (8) Rates of suicide in Alaska are among the highest in the 
        Nation, with the suicide rate among Alaska Native people about 
        3 times that of non-Native Alaskans and 4 times that of the 
        national average of the United States.
            (9) Alaska Native children are more than twice as likely to 
        live in poverty than Alaskans of other races, 25.7 percent 
        compared to 10.9 percent.
            (10) It is unclear why many of these health problems are 
        greater among northern people or whether the health problems 
        are related to toxic influences, socioeconomic status, cultural 
        change, distance from sophisticated medical care, or other 
        factors.
            (11) More research is necessary into the causes of 
        disparities in rates of particular public health problems in 
        the Arctic and intervention into the prevention and treatment 
        of these problems.

SEC. 3. STUDY OF MENTAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES IN THE 
              ARCTIC.

    (a) Study Authorized.--The Arctic Research Commission established 
under section 103 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 
U.S.C. 4102) shall, in collaboration with Federal health agencies, 
directly or through contract, prepare and submit to Congress a 2-year 
study to examine the science base, gaps in knowledge, and strategies 
for the prevention and treatment of mental, behavioral, and physical 
health problems faced by populations in the Arctic, with a focus on 
Alaska.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section a total of $1,200,000 for fiscal 
years 2010 and 2011.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL ARCTIC HEALTH SCIENCE POLICY.

    (a) Updating 1984 Policy.--The Director of the National Institutes 
of Health shall, in collaboration with other governmental agencies and 
private and nonprofit entities involved in Arctic health issues, 
develop a national Arctic health science policy. In developing the 
policy, the Director shall review and take into consideration the 
National Arctic Health Science Policy developed by the American Public 
Health Association Task Force in 1984.
    (b) Desk for Arctic Health.--Section 401(c) of the Public Health 
Services Act (42 U.S.C. 281(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(3) Desk for arctic health.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--Within the Division, there is 
                established a Desk for Arctic Health.
                    ``(B) Duties.--The Desk for Arctic Health shall--
                            ``(i) work with the Interagency Arctic 
                        Research Policy Committee established under 
                        section 107(b) of the Arctic Research and 
                        Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4106(b)) to 
                        ensure adequate health representation from 
                        Federal agencies;
                            ``(ii) collaborate and consult with 
                        governmental entities and United States 
                        nongovernmental organizations involved in 
                        Arctic health issues, including the State of 
                        Alaska, University of Alaska, and entities that 
                        handle issues regarding the health of the 
                        indigenous people of the Arctic; and
                            ``(iii) collaborate with the Canadian 
                        Institutes of Health Research on indigenous 
                        Arctic people health issues, in accordance with 
                        the 2004 agreement between the National 
                        Institutes of Health and the Canadian 
                        Institutes of Health Research, and with other 
                        international entities dealing with pan-Arctic 
                        health issues.''.

SEC. 5. ARCTIC HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 399U. ARCTIC HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            ``(1) The health impact assessment process can be a 
        valuable tool for better Arctic health by objectively 
        evaluating the potential health benefits and risks of a project 
        or policy before the project or policy is built or put into 
        place.
            ``(2) Health impact assessments can provide recommendations 
        to increase positive health outcomes and minimize adverse 
        health outcomes.
            ``(3) A major benefit of the health impact assessment 
        process is that it brings public health issues to the attention 
        of people who make decisions about areas that fall outside 
        traditional public health arenas, such as transportation or 
        land use.
    ``(b) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall establish a 
program at the National Center of Environmental Health of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention to foster advances and help provide 
technical support in the field of Arctic health impact assessments.
    ``(c) Definition of Health Impact Assessments.--In this section, 
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.''.