Title: Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2019
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers and to create a plan to develop the environmental health workforce. Environmental health workers investigate, assess, and control hazardous environmental agents.
HHS also must, within two years, conduct a study on the environmental health workforce and natural disaster preparedness.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1137 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1137

To prioritize education and training for current and future members of 
                  the environmental health workforce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2019

 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.

    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 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    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), between 2010 and 2016, the size of 
        the public health workforce has decreased by approximately 
        9,200 workers.
            (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby Boomer 
        Generation will lead to a further decrease in the environmental 
        health workforce.
            (5) Currently, only 28 States require a credential for 
        environmental health workers that is an impartial, third-party 
        endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and 
        experience.
            (6) The 2017 hurricane season has--
                    (A) devastated many cities, counties, and 
                municipalities in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico;
                    (B) interrupted safe water supplies;
                    (C) destroyed hospitals, nursing homes, schools, 
                and childcare facilities;
                    (D) disabled electricity power sources that keep 
                our Nation's food and water safe; and
                    (E) flooded homes and commercial buildings that 
                will have to be remediated from mold.
            (7) Disasters such as these demonstrate the role of the 
        environmental health workforce in assuring that day care 
        centers, schools, hospitals, the water supply, and food 
        establishments are free from hazards that might cause serious 
        illness or death.
            (8) Educating and training existing and new environmental 
        health workers should be a national public health goal.

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

    (a) Model Standards.--
            (1) 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.
            (2) Permissible content.--Model standards and guidelines 
        developed under paragraph (1) may include the following:
                    (A) Environmental health workers should understand 
                basic public health principles and the 
                interdisciplinary nature of environmental health.
                    (B) Environmental health workers should understand 
                environmental protection and environmental health 
                principles and practices.
                    (C) Environmental health workers should understand 
                basic government functions.
                    (D) Environmental health workers should understand 
                and be sensitive to the different cultures found in 
                their institutions and communities.
    (b) Provision of Standards and Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        shall provide to State, local, and tribal governments--
                    (A) the model standards and guidelines developed 
                under subsection (a); and
                    (B) technical assistance in implementing such model 
                standards and guidelines for credentialing 
                environmental health workers, which may include 
                providing additional training to assist in hiring 
                practices that encourage hiring workforce staff who--
                            (i) understand and respond to changing 
                        demographics; and
                            (ii) promote under-represented populations 
                        in reaching effective health solutions.

SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

    (a) In General.--To ensure that programs and activities (including 
education, training, and payment programs) administered by 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 determine the extent 
        to which these programs and activities are meeting the 
        Department's strategic goal of strengthening the environmental 
        health workforce;
            (2) establishes a strategic goal to strengthen the 
        environmental health workforce using the Healthy People 2020 
        environmental health workforce objectives of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services as a guide;
            (3) identifies any gaps in existing programs and activities 
        (as of the date of the plan) with regard to addressing future 
        environmental health workforce needs identified in workforce 
        projections of the Health Resources and Services Administration 
        in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention;
            (4) recommends actions to address such gaps;
            (5) identifies best practices to engage underserved 
        communities and promote workforce diversity; and
            (6) identifies any additional statutory authority that is 
        needed by the Department to implement such 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--
            (1) 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); and
            (2) post such plan on the website of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services.

SEC. 5. REPORTS AND STUDIES.

    (a) Environmental Health Workforce Development Report.--Not later 
than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall--
            (1) examine and identify best practices implemented in 
        States that are related to training and credentialing 
        requirements for environmental health workers; and
            (2) 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 
        and, where appropriate, evaluates--
                    (A) the types of environmental health workers 
                employed at State and local health departments and 
                independent environmental health agencies;
                    (B) the educational backgrounds of such workers;
                    (C) whether such workers are credentialed or 
                registered, and the type of credential or registration 
                as applicable to each worker;
                    (D) the impact of State requirements for continuing 
                education for such workers;
                    (E) the impact of having State and local health 
                departments and independent environmental health 
                agencies track continuing education units for such 
                workers; and
                    (F) the frequency at which a State or local health 
                department or other entity updates and reviews any 
                examination required to qualify or assess environmental 
                health workers to ensure that such examination is 
                consistent with current law.
    (b) Study on Appropriate Level of Environmental Health Workforce 
and Natural Disaster Preparedness.--Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall collaborate with appropriate associations, 
organizations, and councils, such as the National Academy of Medicine, 
to conduct a study on--
            (1) environmental health in communities before and after 
        natural disasters; and
            (2) the role of environmental health workers to help 
        improve environmental health.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

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