I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1275 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national 
strategic action plan to assist health professionals in preparing for and 
responding to the public health effects of climate change, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2015 
Mrs. CAPPS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
develop a national strategic action plan to assist health 
professionals in preparing for and responding to the pub-
lic health effects of climate change, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 Change Health 
Protection and Promotion Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLI-
MATE CHANGE. 
It is the sense of the Congress that the Federal Gov-
ernment, in cooperation with international, State, tribal, 
and local governments, concerned public and private orga-
nizations, and citizens, should use all practicable means 
and measures— 
(1) to assist the efforts of public health and 
health care professionals, first responders, States, 
tribes, municipalities, and local communities to in-
corporate measures to prepare health systems to re-
spond to the impacts of climate change; 
(2) to ensure— 
(A) that the Nation’s health professionals 
have sufficient information to prepare for and 
respond to the adverse health impacts of cli-
mate change; 
(B) the utility and value of scientific re-
search in advancing understanding of— 
(i) the health impacts of climate 
change; and 
(ii) strategies to prepare for and re-
spond to the health impacts of climate 
change; 
(C) the identification of communities vul-
nerable to the health effects of climate change 
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and the development of strategic response plans 
to be carried out by health professionals for 
those communities; 
(D) the improvement of health status and 
health equity through efforts to prepare for and 
respond to climate change; and 
(E) the inclusion of health policy in the de-
velopment of climate change responses; 
(3) to encourage further research, interdiscipli-
nary partnership, and collaboration among stake-
holders in order to— 
(A) understand and monitor the health im-
pacts of climate change; and 
(B) improve public health knowledge and 
response strategies to climate change; 
(4) to enhance preparedness activities, and pub-
lic health infrastructure, relating to climate change 
and health; 
(5) to encourage each and every American to 
learn about the impacts of climate change on health; 
and 
(6) to assist the efforts of developing nations to 
incorporate measures to prepare health systems to 
respond to the impacts of climate change. 
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SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act in any manner limits the author-
ity provided to or responsibility conferred on any Federal 
department or agency by any provision of any law (includ-
ing regulations) or authorizes any violation of any provi-
sion of any law (including regulations), including any 
health, energy, environmental, transportation, or any 
other law or regulation. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, within 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, on the basis of the best avail-
able science, and in consultation pursuant to para-
graph (2), shall publish a strategic action plan to as-
sist health professionals in preparing for and re-
sponding to the impacts of climate change on public 
health in the United States and other nations, par-
ticularly developing nations. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing or making 
any revision to the national strategic action plan, the 
Secretary shall— 
(A) consult with the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the Director of the National Institutes 
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of Health, the Secretary of Energy, other ap-
propriate Federal agencies, Indian tribes, State 
and local governments, public health organiza-
tions, scientists, and other interested stake-
holders; and 
(B) provide opportunity for public input. 
(b) CONTENTS.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall assist health profes-
sionals in preparing for and responding effectively 
and efficiently to the health effects of climate change 
through measures including— 
(A) developing, improving, integrating, and 
maintaining domestic and international disease 
surveillance systems and monitoring capacity to 
respond to health-related effects of climate 
change, including on topics addressing— 
(i) water, food, and vector borne infec-
tious diseases and climate change; 
(ii) pulmonary effects, including re-
sponses to aeroallergens; 
(iii) cardiovascular effects, including 
impacts of temperature extremes; 
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(iv) air pollution health effects, includ-
ing heightened sensitivity to air pollution; 
(v) hazardous algal blooms; 
(vi) mental and behavioral health im-
pacts of climate change; 
(vii) the health of refugees, displaced 
persons, and vulnerable communities; 
(viii) the implications for communities 
vulnerable to health effects of climate 
change, as well as strategies for responding 
to climate change within these commu-
nities; and 
(ix) local and community-based health 
interventions for climate-related health im-
pacts; 
(B) creating tools for predicting and moni-
toring the public health effects of climate 
change on the international, national, regional, 
State, and local levels, and providing technical 
support to assist in their implementation; 
(C) developing public health communica-
tions strategies and interventions for extreme 
weather events and disaster response situations; 
(D) identifying and prioritizing commu-
nities and populations vulnerable to the health 
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effects of climate change, and determining ac-
tions and communication strategies that should 
be taken to inform and protect these commu-
nities and populations from the health effects of 
climate change; 
(E) developing health communication, pub-
lic education, and outreach programs aimed at 
public health and health care professionals, as 
well as the general public, to promote prepared-
ness and response strategies relating to climate 
change and public health, including the identi-
fication of greenhouse gas reduction behaviors 
that are health-promoting; 
(F) developing academic and regional cen-
ters of excellence devoted to— 
(i) researching relationships between 
climate change and health; 
(ii) expanding and training the public 
health workforce to strengthen the capacity 
of such workforce to respond to and pre-
pare for the health effects of climate 
change; 
(iii) creating and supporting academic 
fellowships focusing on the health effects 
of climate change; and 
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