H.R. 9962 — Green New Deal for Health Act

This section defines terms used in the title, including the Director of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, the national strategic action plan published under section 102(b)(1), the Office itself, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This section establishes the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by a Director, to coordinate federal responses to climate-related health threats. It requires the Secretary to publish a national strategic action plan within one year, after consulting the EPA Administrator, NOAA, NASA, Indian Health Service, other federal agencies, tribal governments, and affected stakeholders, that assesses health sector capacity and sets strategies to address disparities, infrastructure needs, emissions tracking, disease surveillance for water- and vector-borne illnesses, and preparedness for extreme weather and air pollution.

This section establishes a permanent science advisory board of 10 to 20 members appointed by the Secretary from recommendations by the President of the National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Medicine. The board must include members with expertise in public health, climate change, environmental justice, and related fields, as well as individuals with lived experience; it advises the Secretary on domestic and international climate impacts on public health and disproportionately affected populations, supports the national strategic action plan and climate and health program, and submits annual reports to Congress.

This section requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to prepare periodic reports on the adverse health effects of climate change. The reports review scientific developments on health impacts and disparities, evaluate activities under the national strategic action plan, and recommend changes to the plan and climate and health program, with the first report due within one year of the plan's publication and every four years thereafter, submitted to Congress and the Secretary and made public.

This section authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2033 to carry out activities of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 for the National Strategic Action Plan, and $500,000 for fiscal year 2027 for the Advisory Board.

This section requires hospitals participating in Medicare to notify the Secretary at least 90 days before discontinuing services or closing (or within 30 days after a catastrophic event), prohibits discontinuation of essential services during the notification period unless patient or employee health or safety is at risk, and mandates submission of mitigation plans, workforce transition support, and participation in a public comment and review process if the Secretary determines access to essential services would be negatively affected. It also requires detailed disclosures on services, patient volumes and insurance types, employees, labor organizations, alternative providers, ownership, steps taken to avoid closure, and distribution of liquidation proceeds.

This section provides $130,000,000,000 for community health centers and $2,000,000,000 annually for the National Health Service Corps for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. It requires that at least 50 percent of amounts appropriated under the Community Health Center Fund on or after 2027 support projects or sites in or serving environmental justice communities. It prohibits use of the funds for activities subject to reporting requirements under section 203(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.

This section expands grants for medical facility construction and modernization to include projects that increase capacity to provide essential health care and update facilities for resilience to climate disasters and public health crises. It directs the Secretary to prioritize applicants whose projects incorporate disaster resilience, climate mitigation, green infrastructure, decarbonization, or related measures such as onsite renewable energy generation, high-efficiency heat pumps and air filtration, wetlands and drainage systems, green roofs, tree planting for urban heat reduction, and flood or wildfire protection for access routes. It authorizes $100,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, to remain available until expended. It also requires grant applicants to provide reasonable assurance of adequate staffing to meet community service obligations and either a collective bargaining agreement or an explicit policy of non-interference with employees' rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

This section establishes the Planning and Evaluation Grant Program under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services awards grants to states, tribal governments, political subdivisions, and nonprofit entities to develop sustainability and resiliency plans for medical facilities. The plans must enhance facility and surrounding infrastructure sustainability and climate resilience to protect patient health and community access, with priority given to facilities where a majority of revenue comes from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements or that serve uninsured patients in areas with low air quality, high pollution burdens, or disproportionate climate risks.

This section establishes in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services an Office of Sustainability and Environmental Impact, headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to support health care decarbonization, climate-informed care, and mitigation of environmental harms. It requires the Secretary to submit biennial reports to Congress beginning two years after enactment that include “Climate-Friendly” health system designations and authorizes $2 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2036.

This section establishes a task force, with nine members from the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, to recommend methods for calculating emissions from drug and device manufacture, transport, use, and disposal, as well as mandatory public disclosure and oversight policies. It requires the Secretary to issue regulations within one year of enactment establishing mandatory climate risk disclosure and transparency policies for drugs and devices approved under sections 505, 510(k), 513(f)(2), or 515 or section 351 of the Public Health Service Act, and authorizes $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.

This section establishes the Council on Green Health Care Manufacturing, chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with membership from the heads of nine other federal agencies. It requires the Council to assess environmental and climate impacts, labor conditions, supply chain resiliency, and human rights issues in domestic and global medical supply chains within one year, submit a public report to Congress, develop recommendations for regulations and a grant program supporting sustainable and zero-emission U.S.-based supply chains that protect labor rights and trade competitiveness, and directs the Secretary to promulgate such regulations.

This section establishes a competitive grant program, no later than 1 year after enactment, to award grants to health professions schools for developing and integrating curriculum and continuing education on identifying, treating, and mitigating mental and physical health risks associated with climate change. It requires grantees to engage frontline and environmental justice communities, address racial and ethnic disparities, and cover eight specified topics including reproductive health risks and bias; authorizes partnerships with public health departments, unions, and community organizations; and mandates annual reports, a final report, and a congressional report after 6 years.

This section expands the community health worker grant program to require training and credentialing on climate change and environmental hazards, establishment of permanent positions paying at least the prevailing wage through stable funding, education and home visits on geography-specific climate health risks, and outreach on extreme weather preparedness. It directs a plan to expand the workforce by 150,000 positions by 2031, adds environmental justice communities to the eligible entities, requires applicants to maintain collective bargaining agreements or neutrality policies, and increases annual funding to $10 billion (from $50 million) for FY2027 through FY2036.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to public or private nonprofit health care facilities and home health agencies during a declared emergency or disaster. The grants fund hazardous duty compensation of up to $13 per hour (not to exceed $25,000 per worker per year) for essential health care workers whose duties or commutes are deemed hazardous, plus safety measures including personal protective equipment and alternative transit.

This section establishes the National Climate and Health Research and Innovation Initiative, carried out by the Secretary through the Assistant Secretary for Health, to develop research, tools, and innovations that prevent, treat, and mitigate the health harms of climate change. It requires the President to create an interagency committee with representatives from HHS (including the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and NIH), OSTP, NSF, EPA, DOE, HUD, and DOL that meets quarterly to coordinate activities such as research on climate-related physical and mental health disparities, environmental racism, occupational hazards, sustainable health care operations, and low-emission medical practices; the initiative terminates December 31, 2036.