Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2661 | Sponsor: Rep. Lawrence, Brenda L. (D-MI)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to carry out certain activities related to the environmental-health workforce. It also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on state-based practices for training and credentialing environmental-health workers.
Specifically, HHS must develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental-health workers and a plan to ensure its programs and activities meet the future needs of the environmental-health workforce.
The bill also specifies that environmental-health workers are eligible for public-service loan forgiveness.

To prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental 
                         health professionals.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Environmental Health Workforce Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The environmental health workforce is vital to 
        protecting the health and safety of the public.
            (2) For years, State and local governmental public health 
        agencies have reported substantial workforce losses and other 
        challenges to the environmental health workforce.
            (3) According to the Association of State and Territorial 
        Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County 
        and City Health Officials (NACCHO), more than 50,600 State and 
        local environmental health workforce jobs have been lost since 
        2008. This represents approximately 22 percent of the total 
        State and local environmental health workforce.
            (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby Boomer 
        Generation will lead to a further decrease in the environmental 
        health workforce.
            (5) According to the National Environmental Health 
        Association, more than 67 percent of Tribal environmental 
        health programs, 64 percent of State environmental health 
        programs, and 60 percent of local environmental health programs 
        report insufficient staffing capacity to respond to new issues 
        presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Industry workers also 
        reported insufficient access to training and high levels of 
        burnout.
            (6) Currently, only 27 States require a credential for 
        environmental health workers that is an impartial, third-party 
        endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and 
        experience.
            (7) Educating and training existing and new environmental 
        health professionals should be a national public health goal.

SEC. 3. MODEL STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR CREDENTIALING ENVIRONMENTAL 
              HEALTH WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
coordination with appropriate national professional organizations, 
Federal, State, local, and tribal governmental agencies, and private-
sector and nongovernmental entities, shall develop model standards and 
guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers.
    (b) Provision of Standards and Technical Assistance.--The Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall provide to State, local, and tribal 
governments--
            (1) the model standards and guidelines developed under 
        subsection (a); and
            (2) technical assistance in credentialing environmental 
        health workers.

SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

    (a) In General.--To ensure that programs and activities (including 
education, training, and payment programs) of the Department of Health 
and Human Services for developing the environmental health workforce 
meet national needs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan for such programs and 
activities that--
            (1) includes performance measures to more clearly determine 
        the extent to which these programs and activities are meeting 
        the Department's strategic goal of strengthening the 
        environmental health workforce;
            (2) identifies and communicates to stakeholders any gaps 
        between existing programs and activities and future 
        environmental health workforce needs identified in workforce 
        projections of the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration;
            (3) identifies actions needed to address such identified 
        gaps; and
            (4) identifies any additional statutory authority that is 
        needed by the Department to implement such identified actions.
    (b) Submission to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
of the Senate, and to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 
Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, the plan developed 
under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall examine 
and identify best practices in 6 States (as described in subsection 
(b)) related to training and credentialing requirements for 
environmental health workers and submit to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that 
includes information concerning--
            (1) types of environmental health workers employed at 
        State, local, and city health departments and independent 
        environmental health agencies;
            (2) educational backgrounds of environmental health 
        workers;
            (3) whether environmental health workers are credentialed 
        or registered, and what type of credential or registration each 
        worker has received;
            (4) State requirements for continuing education for 
        environmental health workers;
            (5) whether State, local, and city health departments and 
        independent environmental health agencies track continuing 
        education units for their environmental health workers; and
            (6) how frequently any exam required to qualify 
        environmental health workers is updated and reviewed to ensure 
        that the exam is consistent with current law.
    (b) Selection of States.--The report described in subsection (a) 
shall be based upon the examination of such best practices with respect 
to 3 States that have credentialing requirements for environmental 
health workers (such as Maryland, Ohio, and Washington) and 3 States 
that do not have such requirements (such as Indiana, Iowa, and 
Pennsylvania).

SEC. 6. PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS.

    Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(m)) is amended in paragraph (3)(B)--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) a full-time job as an environmental 
                        health worker (as defined in section 7 of the 
                        Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2021) who 
                        is accredited, certified, or licensed in 
                        accordance with applicable law.''.

SEC. 7. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the terms ``environmental health worker'' and 
``environmental health workforce'' refer to public health workers who 
investigate and assess hazardous environmental agents in various 
environmental settings and develop, promote, and enforce guidelines, 
policies, and interventions to control such hazards.
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