Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens forecasting, data-sharing, and coordinated planning to reduce heat-related harm—especially for seniors and other vulnerable groups—but does so with modest federal costs, added administrative burdens, and some design choices (like the 2-day event threshold and open-data privacy risks) that could limit protections for certain populations.
Millions of people — especially seniors, children, low-income people, and those with disabilities in urban and rural communities — will get better heat forecasts, warnings, and a coordinated multiagency plan aimed at reducing heat-related illness and death.
Researchers, state and local agencies, and health systems gain standardized, open, and archived heat data plus decision-support tools that improve evidence-based planning, impact forecasting, and long-term adaptation.
NOAA and partner public health agencies receive predictable, recurring funding ($5 million/year, 2025–2029) to sustain the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), enabling continued operations and program planning.
People most vulnerable to rapid heat spikes — seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals — may be left unprotected because the bill defines a "heat event" using a 2-day threshold that can exclude shorter but dangerous heat bursts.
The program raises federal and NOAA costs (including a $25 million five-year appropriation), increasing taxpayer spending and potentially requiring additional appropriations or resource shifts.
If agencies fail to fund or prioritize implementation — or if funds are consumed by administration — the required strategic planning and briefings may not translate into real, local reductions in heat-related harm for vulnerable populations.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates an interagency committee and a NOAA-based National Integrated Heat Health Information System with open data, forecasting tools, a 5-year plan, and $5M/year authorized for 2025–2029.
Introduced January 29, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress January 29, 2025
Creates a coordinated federal effort to reduce heat-related illness and death by standing up an interagency committee and a new National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) inside NOAA. The measure directs agencies to share and publish heat-related data, produce science-based forecasts and decision-support tools, develop a 5-year strategic plan, consult with state, local, Tribal, and other partners, and funds NOAA with $5 million per year for 2025–2029 to carry out these activities. The bill requires open data stewardship, regular interagency meetings and reporting, and development of impact-focused products to help communities, public health officials, and emergency managers prepare for and respond to extreme heat events.