I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4493 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to declare a public 
health emergency in connection with health risks associated with climate 
change, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 17, 2025 
Ms. DEXTER (for herself, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. 
RANDALL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. SCHNEIDER, 
Ms. SIMON, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. BELL, and Mr. 
THANEDAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
declare a public health emergency in connection with 
health risks associated with climate change, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Health Emer-
gency Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In the past decade, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services has declared or renewed a pub-
lic health emergency 120 times. Of those declara-
tions and renewals— 
(A) 66 were related to extreme weather 
events; 
(B) 14 were related to COVID–19; 
(C) 2 were related to earthquakes; 
(D) 2 were related to Mpox; 
(E) 32 were related to the opioid crisis; 
and 
(F) 4 were related to Zika. 
(2) A preponderance of evidence shows that cli-
mate change is driving or, at a minimum, exacer-
bating extreme weather events and the transmission 
of infectious diseases. Therefore, climate change can 
be linked to more than half of all public health 
emergency declarations over the past decade. 
(3) For this reason, entities (including the 
World Health Organization) have identified climate 
change as the most significant health threat of the 
21st century. Yet the public health infrastructure of 
the United States remains woefully unprepared to 
meet the increased demand that climate-related pub-
lic health crises continue to drive. 
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(4) The United States bears a moral and stra-
tegic responsibility to confront climate-related public 
health crises with the urgency such crises demand. 
To protect communities in the United States, and 
the most vulnerable individuals within such commu-
nities, the Nation must mobilize Federal resources, 
enable data sharing, exercise emergency authorities, 
and coordinate across agencies to build a public 
health system that is resilient to the intensifying 
threat of climate change. 
SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
declare a public health emergency under section 319 of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) in connec-
tion with health risks associated with climate change. 
Æ 
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