SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLI-
MATE CHANGE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The U.S. Global Change Research 
Program Climate and Health Assessment states that— 
(1) the impacts of human-induced climate 
change are increasing nationwide; 
(2) rising greenhouse gas concentrations result 
in increases in temperature, changes in precipitation, 
increases in the frequency and intensity of some ex-
treme weather events, and rising sea levels; 
(3) these climate change impacts endanger our 
health by affecting our food and water sources, the 
air we breathe, the weather we experience, and our 
interactions with the built and natural environments; 
and 
(4) as the climate continues to change, the risks 
to human health continue to grow. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) climate change poses threats to the United 
States and globally through its impacts on society, 
the economy, the physical environment, and national 
security; 
(2) climate change health threats are growing 
in scale and severity; 
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(3) climate change disproportionately affects 
people of the United States who are economically 
disadvantaged, belong to communities of color, or 
have other social and health vulnerabilities; 
(4) climate change impacts anywhere in the 
world can threaten the health of people of the 
United States through such pathways as infectious 
disease pandemics, climate-driven migration and dis-
placement, and social, economic, and political disrup-
tion; and 
(5) the Federal Government, in cooperation 
with international, State, Tribal, and local govern-
ments, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, 
and individuals, should use all practicable means 
and measures— 
(A) to assist the efforts of public health 
and health care professionals, first responders, 
health care systems, States, the District of Co-
lumbia, territories, municipalities, and Native 
American and local communities to incorporate 
measures to prepare public health and health 
care systems to respond to the impacts of cli-
mate change; 
(B) to ensure— 
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(i) that the Nation’s public health and 
health care professionals have sufficient in-
formation to prepare for and respond to 
the adverse health impacts of climate 
change; 
(ii) the application of scientific re-
search in advancing understanding of— 
(I) the health impacts of climate 
change; and 
(II) strategies to prepare for and 
respond to the health impacts of cli-
mate change; 
(iii) the identification of communities 
and populations vulnerable to the health 
impacts of climate change, including in-
fants, children, pregnant women, the elder-
ly, individuals with disabilities or pre-exist-
ing illnesses, low-income populations, com-
munities of color, those who experience en-
vironmental injustices, and unhoused indi-
viduals; 
(iv) the development of strategic re-
sponse plans to be carried out by public 
health and health care professionals for the 
communities described in clause (iii); 
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(v) the improvement of health status 
and health equity through efforts to pre-
pare for and respond to climate change; 
and 
(vi) the inclusion of health impacts in 
the development of climate change re-
sponses; 
(C) to encourage further research, inter-
disciplinary 
partnership, 
and 
collaboration 
among stakeholders in order to— 
(i) understand and monitor the health 
impacts of climate change, including men-
tal health impacts; 
(ii) improve public health knowledge 
and response strategies to climate change; 
(iii) identify actions and policies that 
are beneficial to health and that mitigate 
climate health impacts; and 
(iv) develop strategies to address 
water-, food-, and vector-borne infectious 
diseases and other public health emer-
gencies; 
(D) to enhance preparedness activities, and 
health care and public health infrastructure, re-
lating to climate change and health; 
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(E) to encourage each and every commu-
nity to learn about the impacts of climate 
change on health; and 
(F) to assist the efforts of developing 
countries to incorporate measures to prepare 
public health and health care systems to re-
spond to the impacts of climate change. 
SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act limits the authority provided to 
or responsibility conferred on any Federal department or 
agency by any provision of any law (including regulations) 
or authorizes any violation of any provision of any law (in-
cluding regulations), including any health, energy, envi-
ronmental, transportation, or any other law or regulation. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN AND PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act 
as the ‘‘Secretary’’), on the basis of the best avail-
able science, and in consultation pursuant to para-
graph (2), shall publish a national strategic action 
plan and establish a climate and health program to 
ensure that public health and health care systems 
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are prepared for and can respond to the impacts of 
climate change on health in the United States and 
other countries. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing or making 
any revision to the national strategic action plan and 
program, 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 
of Health, the Undersecretary of Commerce for 
Oceans & Atmosphere, the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion, the Director of the Indian Health Service, 
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
National Environmental Justice Advisory Coun-
cil, the heads of other appropriate Federal 
agencies, Tribal governments, and State and 
local government officials; and 
(B) provide meaningful opportunity for en-
gagement, comment, and consultation with rel-
evant public stakeholders, particularly rep-
resentatives of at-risk populations, environ-
mental justice communities, Tribal commu-
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nities, public health organizations, and sci-
entists. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.— 
(1) NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, acting through the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
collaboration with other Federal agencies as ap-
propriate, shall, on the basis of the best avail-
able science, and in consultation with the enti-
ties described in subsection (a)(2)(A), publish a 
national strategic action plan under subsection 
(a)(1) to guide the climate and health program 
and assist public health and health care profes-
sionals in preparing for and responding to the 
impacts of climate change on public health in 
the United States and other countries, particu-
larly developing countries. 
(B) NATIONAL
STRATEGIC
ACTION
PLAN 
COMPONENTS.—The national strategic plan 
under subsection (a)(1) shall include an assess-
ment of the health system capacity of the 
United States to address climate change, in-
cluding— 
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(i) identifying and prioritizing commu-
nities and populations vulnerable to the 
health impacts of climate change; 
(ii) identifying the link between envi-
ronmental injustice and vulnerability to the 
impacts of climate change and prioritizing 
those who have been harmed by environ-
mental and climate injustice; 
(iii) providing outreach and commu-
nication aimed at public health and health 
care professionals and the public to pro-
mote preparedness and response strategies; 
(iv) providing for programs across 
Federal agencies to advance research re-
lated to the impacts of climate change on 
health; 
(v) identifying and assessing existing 
preparedness and response strategies for 
the health impacts of climate change; 
(vi) prioritizing critical public health 
and health care infrastructure projects; 
(vii) providing modeling and fore-
casting tools of climate change health im-
pacts, including local impacts, where fea-
sible; 
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(viii) establishing academic and re-
gional centers of excellence; 
(ix) providing technical assistance and 
support for preparedness and response 
plans for the health threats of climate 
change in States, municipalities, terri-
tories, Indian Tribes, and developing coun-
tries; and 
(x) developing, improving, integrating, 
and 
maintaining 
domestic 
and 
inter-
national disease surveillance systems and 
monitoring capacity to respond to health- 
related impacts of climate change, includ-
ing on topics addressing— 
(I) water-, food-, and vector- 
borne infectious diseases and climate 
change; 
(II) pulmonary effects, including 
responses to aeroallergens and toxic 
exposures; 
(III) cardiovascular effects, in-
cluding impacts of temperature ex-
tremes; 
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(IV) air pollution health effects, 
including heightened sensitivity to air 
pollution; 
(V) harmful algal blooms; 
(VI) 
mental 
and 
behavioral 
health impacts of climate change; 
(VII) the health of migrants, ref-
ugees, displaced persons, and vulner-
able communities; 
(VIII) the implications for com-
munities and populations vulnerable 
to the health effects of climate 
change, as well as strategies for re-
sponding to climate change within 
such communities; 
(IX) Tribal, local, and commu-
nity-based health interventions for cli-
mate-related health impacts; 
(X) extreme heat and weather 
events, including drought; 
(XI) decreased nutritional value 
of crops; and 
(XII) disruptions in access to 
routine and acute medical care. 
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(2) CLIMATE
AND
HEALTH
PROGRAM.—The 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in col-
laboration with other Federal agencies, as appro-
priate, shall ensure that the climate and health pro-
gram established under this section addresses pri-
ority health actions, including by doing each of the 
following: 
(A) Serve as a credible source of informa-
tion on the physical, mental, and behavioral 
health consequences of climate change for the 
United States population and globally. 
(B) Track data on environmental condi-
tions, disease risks, and disease occurrence re-
lated to climate change. 
(C) Expand capacity for modeling and 
forecasting health effects that may be climate- 
related. 
(D) Enhance the science base to better un-
derstand the relationship between climate 
change and health outcomes. 
(E) Identify locations and population 
groups at greatest risk for specific health 
threats and effects, such as increased heat-re-
lated illnesses and injuries, degraded air and 
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water quality, food or water-related infections, 
vector-borne illnesses, pulmonary and cardio-
vascular effects, mental and behavioral health 
effects, and food, water, and nutrient insecu-
rity. 
(F) Communicate the health-related as-
pects of climate change, including risks and as-
sociated costs and ways to reduce them, to the 
public, decision-makers, public health profes-
sionals, and health care providers. 
(G) Develop partnerships with other gov-
ernment agencies, the private sector, non-
governmental organizations, universities, and 
international organizations to more effectively 
address domestic and global health aspects of 
climate change. 
(H) Provide leadership to State and local 
governments, community leaders, health care 
professionals, nongovernmental organizations, 
environmental justice networks, faith-based 
communities, the private sector and the public, 
domestically 
and 
internationally, 
regarding 
health protection from climate change effects. 
(I) Develop and implement preparedness 
and response plans for health threats, such as 
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