Sponsors (18)
The bill improves federal readiness, coordination, and rapid funding for climate-driven health threats—helping vulnerable and high-risk people—but raises budgetary costs, risks straining health-care capacity, and creates oversight and equity concerns about how emergency powers and resources are used.
State and local public-health agencies and hospitals can mobilize federal emergency resources and funding faster for climate-driven health crises (heatwaves, wildfires, vector-borne outbreaks), enabling quicker relief and response for affected communities.
Hospitals, health systems, and public-health authorities may receive targeted funding and programs to strengthen public-health infrastructure and surge capacity, improving long-term ability to handle climate-driven health demands.
Federal public-health agencies (HHS and partners) would be directed to plan for climate-driven threats, improving readiness for extreme weather and infectious-disease surges across jurisdictions.
All taxpayers could face higher federal spending over time because more frequent use of emergency authorities and mobilizations can increase budgetary costs.
Hospitals and health systems may face surge demands during declared emergencies, straining capacity and causing delayed non-emergency care for some patients.
Use of emergency authorities more frequently could expand executive power over public-health decisions, raising concerns about oversight and potential civil-liberties impacts.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires the HHS Secretary to declare a section 319 public health emergency when health risks are caused or worsened by climate change.
Introduced July 17, 2025 by Maxine Dexter · Last progress July 17, 2025
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to declare a federal public health emergency under the Public Health Service Act whenever health risks are tied to climate change. The bill also records findings about the growing role of climate-driven extreme weather and infectious disease in past emergency declarations and the need to mobilize federal public health capacity and coordination.