S. 5134 — Green New Deal for Health Act

This section defines terms used throughout 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 of Climate Change and Health Equity established by section 102(a)(1), 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 change effects on public health and the health care system. It requires the Secretary to publish a national strategic action plan within one year, after consulting specified Federal agencies, Tribal governments, and stakeholders, that assesses and improves health sector capacity through community engagement, emissions tracking, infrastructure prioritization, disease surveillance for water- and vector-borne illnesses and other climate-related conditions, and related measures.

This section establishes a permanent science advisory board of 10 to 20 members appointed by the Secretary from recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences or National Academy of Medicine. The board must include members with lived experience and provides advice on climate change impacts on public health and disproportionately affected populations, strategies to respond, the national strategic action plan, and the climate and health program, and submits annual reports to Congress beginning one year after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to prepare periodic reports that review scientific developments on the health impacts and disparities of climate change, evaluate measurable impacts of activities under the national strategic action plan, and recommend changes to the plan and climate and health program. Reports must be submitted to Congress and the Secretary and made publicly available no later than one year after the first publication of the national strategic action plan and every four years thereafter.

This section authorizes appropriations for climate and health activities. (1) $10,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2033 for the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. (2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 for the National Strategic Action Plan. (3) $500,000 for fiscal year 2027 for the Advisory Board.

This section requires hospitals to notify the Secretary at least 90 days before discontinuing essential services or closing, prohibits such discontinuation during the notification period unless patient or employee health or safety is clearly at risk, and mandates detailed disclosures on affected services, patients, employees, and alternative providers. It directs submission of mitigation plans within 15 days if the Secretary determines access to essential services would be negatively impacted, requires a 45-day public comment period, and applies modified 30-day notice rules for closures due to unforeseen catastrophic events beginning 60 days after enactment.

This section provides $130 billion for community health centers and $2 billion 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 section on or after 2027 support projects in or serving environmental justice communities. It prohibits use of the funds for activities subject to labor-management reporting requirements under 29 U.S.C. 433(a).

This section expands grants under the Hill-Burton program (42 U.S.C. 300r) to include projects that increase capacity to provide essential health care and make medical facilities more resilient to climate disasters and public health crises. It directs the Secretary to prioritize projects incorporating resilience measures such as onsite renewable energy generation, high-efficiency heat pumps and air filtration, green infrastructure for flood and wildfire protection, and decarbonization upgrades. It authorizes $100 billion for FY2027, available until expended. It also requires applicants to assure adequate staffing and either a collective bargaining agreement or a policy of non-interference with employees' National Labor Relations Act rights.

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 sustainability and climate resilience through activities such as feasibility studies, community outreach, and needs assessments, with priority given to facilities serving mostly Medicare and Medicaid patients or uninsured populations in areas with low air quality or high pollution burdens.

This section establishes the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Impact within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to support health care decarbonization, climate-informed care, and mitigation of environmental harms. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint a Director, submit biennial reports to Congress beginning two years after enactment, and authorizes $2 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2036.

This section establishes a nine-member task force, with three representatives each 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, reprocessing, and waste; mandatory public disclosure and oversight policies; clinician information on low-impact treatment options; and manufacturer emission reductions. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations within one year of enactment mandating climate risk disclosures 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 members from nine other federal agencies. It requires the Council to assess environmental, labor, and human rights conditions in global and domestic medical supply chains and submit a report to Congress within one year of enactment. It directs the Council to recommend regulations and a grant program supporting sustainable, zero-emission, U.S.-based supply chains, and requires the Secretary to promulgate such regulations within one year.

This section establishes a competitive grant program, to be created by the Secretary of Health and Human Services not later than 1 year after enactment of the Green New Deal for Health Act, that awards grants to health professions schools to develop and integrate curriculum and continuing education on identifying, treating, and mitigating mental and physical health risks associated with climate change for populations disproportionately affected by it. The section requires grant applications to describe engagement with frontline and environmental justice communities, limits use of funds to eight specified topics including reproductive health risks, racial disparities, patient counseling, and bias training, authorizes partnerships with public health departments, unions, community health centers, and other entities, directs technical assistance for schools serving medically underserved communities, and mandates annual reports, final reports, and a congressional report with recommendations after 6 years.

This section expands the community health worker grant program under 42 U.S.C. 280g–11 to address health risks from climate change and environmental hazards. It requires grantees to create permanent positions paying at least the prevailing wage, respect collective bargaining rights, and prioritize environmental justice communities; directs the Secretary to develop a plan adding 150,000 workers by 2031; adds nonprofit community health organizations as eligible entities; and increases annual funding to $10 billion for FY2027–2036 (from $50 million for FY2023–2027).

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. The grants may 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 hazardous during a declared emergency or disaster, and may also support safety measures including personal protective equipment and alternative transit.

This section establishes the National Climate and Health Research and Innovation Initiative, to be carried out by the Secretary through the Assistant Secretary for Health, to develop research, tools, and innovations addressing the health effects 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, Energy, HUD, and Labor to coordinate activities such as studies on physical and mental health burdens, environmental racism, occupational hazards, sustainable health care practices, and renewable energy for health infrastructure, and it terminates the Initiative on December 31, 2036.