IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1375 

Recognizing the threat of extreme weather to children’s health and wellbeing, 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 23, 2024 

Ms. MCCLELLAN (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. PETERS, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. TONKO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 

TLAIB, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. EVANS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. WILLIAMS

of Georgia, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. STANSBURY, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. SOTO, and Ms. GARCIA of Texas) 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 2023 was the hottest summer in recorded history with unprecedented wildfire smoke and numerous dangerous air quality days across the United 

States; 


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•HRES 1375 IH 

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 


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•HRES 1375 IH 

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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses the sense that adaptations to and 

3 protections from extreme weather conditions must be 

4 developed and deployed rapidly and equitably, with 

5 consideration for the physical and mental health 


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•HRES 1375 IH 

1 needs of both the current generation and all future 

2 generations of young people; 

3 (2) expresses the sense that legislation and 

4 funding addressing adaptation to and protections 

5 from extreme weather conditions must include con6 siderations and solutions tailored to the unique 

7 physical and mental health vulnerabilities and needs 

8 of babies, children, adolescents, and their families; 

9 and 

10 (3) expresses the sense that adaptive measures 

11 may include, but are not limited to— 

12 (A) easily accessible public alerts, such as 

13 for air quality, wildfires, extreme heat, or an14 ticipated flooding; 

15 (B) mutual aid networks, caregiver sup16 port, and community resilience programs; 

17 (C) language-accessible public information 

18 campaigns, such as for air quality, extreme 

19 heat, or disaster preparedness; 

20 (D) incorporation of education about the 

21 unique vulnerabilities of children and pregnant 

22 people to extreme weather into professional 

23 training for health care professionals, edu24 cators, and child care providers; 


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1 (E) inclusion of education about the con2 sequences of heat exposure and first-aid treat3 ment measures for hyperthermia; 

4 (F) improved guidance for schools and 

5 child care providers on extreme weather, ex6 treme heat, and air pollution for schools; 

7 (G) improved air filtration systems in 

8 homes, schools, and child care facilities to ad9 dress numerous sources of air pollution, includ10 ing wildfire smoke, vehicle exhaust, and pollen; 

11 (H) updated physical and technological in12 frastructure of schools, child care facilities, and 

13 health care delivery systems serving children to 

14 withstand extreme weather disruption; 

15 (I) expanded access to public shaded green 

16 space, particularly in urban heat islands; 

17 (J) expanded access to safe places for chil18 dren and families during extreme weather and 

19 air pollution events, such as indoor play spaces, 

20 child-friendly cooling centers, and child-friendly 

21 ‘‘clean rooms’’ during wildfire smoke events; 

22 (K) access to diapers, baby bottles and for23 mula, safe and hygienic nursing spaces, and 

24 other critical supplies for babies in spaces 

25 where families may congregate during and after 


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1 extreme weather, such as evacuation centers, 

2 emergency shelters, and cooling centers; 

3 (L) distribution of infant feeding kits be4 fore, during, and after emergencies; 

5 (M) adequate shade at playgrounds and 

6 school bus stops; 

7 (N) distribution of appropriate child-sized 

8 masks during wildfire smoke events or days of 

9 unhealthy air quality; and 

10 (O) expanded access to hydration and re11 filling stations. 

Æ 


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