II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2616 

To prioritize education and training for current and future members of 

the environmental health workforce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

Ms. STABENOW introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To prioritize education and training for current and future 

members of the environmental health workforce. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Health 

5 Workforce Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The environmental health workforce is vital 

9 to protecting the health and safety of the public. 


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1 (2) For years, State and local governmental 

2 public health agencies have reported substantial 

3 workforce losses and other challenges to the environ4 mental health workforce. 

5 (3) According to the Association of State and 

6 Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), between 2010 

7 and 2016, the size of the public health workforce 

8 has decreased by approximately 9,200 workers. 

9 (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby 

10 Boomer Generation will lead to a further decrease in 

11 the environmental health workforce. 

12 (5) Currently, only 28 States require a creden13 tial for environmental health workers that is an im14 partial, third-party endorsement of an individual’s 

15 professional knowledge and experience. 

16 (6) The 2017 hurricane season has— 

17 (A) devastated many cities, counties, and 

18 municipalities in Texas, Florida, and Puerto 

19 Rico; 

20 (B) interrupted safe water supplies; 

21 (C) destroyed hospitals, nursing homes, 

22 schools, and childcare facilities; 

23 (D) disabled electricity power sources that 

24 keep our Nation’s food and water safe; and 


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1 (E) flooded homes and commercial build2 ings that will have to be remediated from mold. 

3 (7) Disasters such as these demonstrate the 

4 role of the environmental health workforce in assur5 ing that day care centers, schools, hospitals, the 

6 water supply, and food establishments are free from 

7 hazards that might cause serious illness or death. 

8 (8) Educating and training existing and new 

9 environmental health workers should be a national 

10 public health goal. 

11 SEC. 3. MODEL STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR 

12 CREDENTIALING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 

13 WORKERS. 

14 (a) MODEL STANDARDS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

17 Health and Human Services, in coordination with 

18 appropriate national professional organizations, Fed19 eral, State, local, and tribal governmental agencies, 

20 and private sector and nongovernmental entities, 

21 shall develop model standards and guidelines for 

22 credentialing environmental health workers. 

23 (2) PERMISSIBLE CONTENT.—Model standards 

24 and guidelines developed under paragraph (1) may 

25 include the following: 


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1 (A) Environmental health workers should 

2 understand basic public health principles and 

3 the interdisciplinary nature of environmental 

4 health. 

5 (B) Environmental health workers should 

6 understand environmental protection and envi7 ronmental health principles and practices. 

8 (C) Environmental health workers should 

9 understand basic government functions. 

10 (D) Environmental health workers should 

11 understand and be sensitive to the different cul12 tures found in their institutions and commu13 nities. 

14 (b) PROVISION OF STANDARDS AND TECHNICAL AS15 SISTANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services shall provide to State, local, and 

18 tribal governments— 

19 (A) the model standards and guidelines de20 veloped under subsection (a); and 

21 (B) technical assistance in implementing 

22 such model standards and guidelines for 

23 credentialing environmental health workers, 

24 which may include providing additional training 


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1 to assist in hiring practices that encourage hir2 ing workforce staff who— 

3 (i) understand and respond to chang4 ing demographics; and 

5 (ii) promote under-represented popu6 lations in reaching effective health solu7 tions. 

8 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOP9 MENT PLAN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that programs and ac11 tivities (including education, training, and payment pro12 grams) administered by the Department of Health and 

13 Human Services for developing the environmental health 

14 workforce meet national needs, the Secretary of Health 

15 and Human Services shall develop a comprehensive and 

16 coordinated plan for such programs and activities that— 

17 (1) includes performance measures to determine 

18 the extent to which these programs and activities are 

19 meeting the Department’s strategic goal of strength20 ening the environmental health workforce; 

21 (2) establishes a strategic goal to strengthen 

22 the environmental health workforce using the 

23 Healthy People 2020 environmental health work24 force objectives of the Department of Health and 

25 Human Services as a guide; 


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1 (3) identifies any gaps in existing programs and 

2 activities (as of the date of the plan) with regard to 

3 addressing future environmental health workforce 

4 needs identified in workforce projections of the 

5 Health Resources and Services Administration in 

6 collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control 

7 and Prevention; 

8 (4) recommends actions to address such gaps; 

9 (5) identifies best practices to engage under10 served communities and promote workforce diversity; 

11 and 

12 (6) identifies any additional statutory authority 

13 that is needed by the Department to implement such 

14 actions. 

15 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 

16 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services shall— 

18 (1) submit to the Committee on Health, Edu19 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and to 

20 the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Edu21 cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep22 resentatives, the plan developed under subsection 

23 (a); and 

24 (2) post such plan on the website of the De25 partment of Health and Human Services. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 

2 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVEL3 OPMENT REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall— 

6 (1) examine and identify best practices imple7 mented in States that are related to training and 

8 credentialing requirements for environmental health 

9 workers; and 

10 (2) submit to the Committee on Health, Edu11 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

12 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

13 of Representatives a report that includes and, where 

14 appropriate, evaluates— 

15 (A) the types of environmental health 

16 workers employed at State and local health de17 partments and independent environmental 

18 health agencies; 

19 (B) the educational backgrounds of such 

20 workers; 

21 (C) whether such workers are credentialed 

22 or registered, and the type of credential or reg23 istration as applicable to each worker; 

24 (D) the impact of State requirements for 

25 continuing education for such workers; 


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1 (E) the impact of having State and local 

2 health departments and independent environ3 mental health agencies track continuing edu4 cation units for such workers; and 

5 (F) the frequency at which a State or local 

6 health department or other entity updates and 

7 reviews any examination required to qualify or 

8 assess environmental health workers to ensure 

9 that such examination is consistent with cur10 rent law. 

11 (b) STUDY ON APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF ENVIRON12 MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE AND NATURAL DISASTER

13 PREPAREDNESS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall collaborate with appropriate asso16 ciations, organizations, and councils, such as the National 

17 Academy of Medicine, to conduct a study on— 

18 (1) environmental health in communities before 

19 and after natural disasters; and 

20 (2) the role of environmental health workers to 

21 help improve environmental health. 

22 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act, the terms ‘‘environmental health work24 ers’’ and ‘‘environmental health workforce’’ refer to public 

25 health workers who— 


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1 (1) investigate and assess hazardous environ2 mental agents in various environmental settings; and 

3 (2) develop, promote, and enforce guidelines, 

4 policies, and interventions to control such hazards. 

Æ 


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