Sponsors (23)
The bill secures sustained federal funding and CDC leadership plus decision‑support tools to help governments and communities prepare for climate‑driven health threats, but it increases federal spending and may constrain CDC flexibility and deliver limited direct health gains absent strong outcome-focused implementation.
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments — and the hospitals and health systems that serve them — receive sustained federal funding ($110M/year) and formal CDC leadership to address public health impacts of climate change, improving long-term capacity and coordination.
Communities, including rural areas and local health systems, gain decision‑support tools to prepare for and respond to heat, vector-borne disease, and extreme‑weather health risks, strengthening preparedness and local response.
Congress must be notified before funds are reprogrammed into any successor program, increasing transparency and legislative oversight of how climate‑health funds are used.
All taxpayers bear a new authorized federal spending commitment of about $110 million per year, increasing federal outlays.
The prohibition on reprogramming funds could reduce the CDC's flexibility to shift resources quickly in response to emergent public health priorities or emergencies.
If implementation emphasizes translation and tools without clear, measurable outcomes, local communities may see limited direct improvements in health despite the funding and resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Lauren Underwood · Last progress February 27, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the CDC Director, to continue a Climate and Health program run by the National Center for Environmental Health (or a successor). The program must translate climate science for state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments and communities, develop decision‑support tools to build preparedness capacity, and serve as a public health leader for planning around climate impacts. The bill authorizes $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter to carry out the program, bars the Secretary from transferring or reprogramming those funds to other HHS programs, and requires written notice to Congress if funds are moved to establish a successor program.