H.R. 10007 — Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2026

This section states findings on the environmental health workforce, including losses of more than 50,600 state and local jobs since 2008 (22 percent of the total), insufficient staffing reported by over 60 percent of tribal, state, and local programs, and that only 27 states require third-party credentials.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers not later than 1 year after enactment, in coordination with national professional organizations, federal, state, local, and tribal agencies, and private-sector entities. It requires the Secretary to provide the standards and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal governments.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a comprehensive plan ensuring that the Department’s programs and activities for developing the environmental health workforce meet national needs. The plan must include performance measures, identify gaps with future workforce needs from Health Resources and Services Administration projections, actions to address gaps, and any additional statutory authority required, and submit the plan to the Senate HELP Committee and House Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor Committees within 2 years of enactment.

This section directs the Comptroller General to examine best practices for training and credentialing environmental health workers in 6 states—3 with such requirements and 3 without—and submit a report within 2 years to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce covering worker types, education, credentials, continuing education rules, tracking of units, and exam update frequency.

This section expands eligibility for public service loan forgiveness to include full-time employment as an accredited, certified, or licensed environmental health worker (as defined in section 7 of the Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2026).

This section defines the terms environmental health worker and environmental health workforce as public health workers who investigate and assess hazardous environmental agents in various settings and develop, promote, and enforce guidelines, policies, and interventions to control such hazards.