S2340-119

Introduced

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a program and national strategic action plan to prepare and empower the health care sector to protect the health and well-being of our workers, our communities, and our planet in the face of the climate crisis, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Jul 17, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

This bill creates a new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services to study and respond to how climate change affects public health. The office would track disease risks from climate change, expand health-effects modeling, serve as a credible information source, and distribute tools to health professionals. It must develop a national strategic action plan with measurable goals. A permanent science advisory board of 10-20 experts would advise HHS. The bill also requires periodic reports from the National Academies of Sciences evaluating the plan. It authorizes million per year for the office through 2031, million for the plan, and ,000 for the advisory board.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Establishes the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within HHS to coordinate federal response to climate-related health impacts, develop a national strategic action plan, and create a science advisory board.

Who Benefits

  • Environmental justice communities
  • Medically underserved communities
  • Public health professionals

Who Bears Costs

  • HHS (operational costs and staffing)
  • Federal budget (authorized appropriations)

Key Policy Areas

Healthcare, Environment

Primary Purpose

Establishes the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within HHS to coordinate federal response to climate-related health impacts, develop a national strategic action plan, and create a science advisory board.

Policy Domains

Healthcare Environment

Legislative Strategy

"Institutionalize climate-health policy within HHS through a dedicated office, advisory board, and action plan with authorized funding"

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Jul 17, 2025

Mr. Markey (for himself, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Merkley, and …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Healthcare
4 mentions across 4 clauses
+4 positive

Climate and public health experts, Medically underserved communities, Public health and healthcare professionals

Government
3 mentions across 3 clauses
+1 positive -2 negative

Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary, Office of Climate Change and Health Equity

Positive-direction: Office of Climate Change and Health Equity

Negative-direction: Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary

Research & Science
3 mentions across 3 clauses
+3 positive

Climate health researchers, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, National Academy of Sciences and Medicine

Environment
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

Climate-vulnerable populations, Environmental justice communities

General Public
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Taxpayers

6/7
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Healthcare Environment
Actor Mappings
"director"
→ Director of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of Health and Human Services
"advisory_board"
→ Permanent science advisory board (10-20 members)

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

2 terms
"environmental justice community" §2_ejc

Community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and Indigenous communities experiencing higher health or environmental effects

"medically underserved community" §2_muc

Per section 799B of the Public Health Service Act

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology