,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bbfb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #aj1 #bjai,mrs4 ,lawrence 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 and ,mr4 ,cohen7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental health professionals4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,environmental ,health ,workforce ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,the environmental health workforce is vital to protecting the health and safety of the public4 7#b7 ,for years1 ,state and local governmental public health agencies have reported substantial workforce losses and other challenges to the environmental health workforce4 7#c7 ,according to the ,association of ,state and ,territorial ,health ,officials 7,,astho7 and the ,national ,association of ,county and ,city ,health ,officials 7,,naccho71 more than #ej1fjj ,state and local environmental health workforce jobs have been lost since #bjjh4 ,this represents approximately #bb percent of the total ,state and local environmental health workforce4 7#d7 ,in the coming years1 the retiring ,baby ,boomer ,generation will lead to a further decrease in the environmental health workforce4 7#e7 ,currently1 only #bh ,states require a credential for environmental health workers that is an impartial1 third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience4 7#f7 ,educating and training existing and new environmental health professionals should be a national public health goal4 #c4 ,model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 in coordination with appropriate national professional organizations1 ,federal1 ,state1 local1 and tribal governmental agencies1 and private-sector and nongovernmental entities1 shall develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers4 7b7 ,provision of standards and technical assistance ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall provide to ,state1 local1 and tribal governments-- 7#a7 the model standards and guidelines developed under subsection 7a72 and 7#b7 technical assistance in credentialing environmental health workers4 #d4 ,environmental ,health ,workforce ,development ,plan 7a7 ,in general ,to ensure that programs and activities 7including education1 training1 and payment programs7 of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services for developing the environmental health workforce meet national needs1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan for such programs and activities that-- 7#a7 includes performance measures to more clearly determine the extent to which these programs and activities are meeting the ,department's strategic goal of strengthening the environmental health workforce2 7#b7 identifies and communicates to stakeholders any gaps between existing programs and activities and future environmental health workforce needs identified in workforce projections of the ,health ,resources and ,services ,administration2 7#c7 identifies actions needed to address such identified gaps2 and 7#d7 identifies any additional statutory authority that is needed by the ,department to implement such identified actions4 7b7 ,submission to ,congress ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate1 and to the ,committees on ,energy and ,commerce and ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives1 the plan developed under subsection 7a74 #e4 ,environmental health workforce development report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall examine and identify best practices in #f ,states 7as described in subsection 7b77 related to training and credentialing requirements for environmental health workers and submit to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives a report that includes information concerning-- 7#a7 types of environmental health workers employed at ,state1 local1 and city health departments and independent environmental health agencies2 7#b7 educational backgrounds of environmental health workers2 7#c7 whether environmental health workers are credentialed or registered1 and what type of credential or registration each worker has received2 7#d7 ,state requirements for continuing education for environmental health workers2 7#e7 whether ,state1 local1 and city health departments and independent environmental health agencies track continuing education units for their environmental health workers2 and 7#f7 how frequently any exam required to qualify environmental health workers is updated and reviewed to ensure that the exam is consistent with current law4 7b7 ,selection of ,states ,the report described in subsection 7a7 shall be based upon the examination of such best practices with respect to #c ,states that have credentialing requirements for environmental health workers 7such as ,maryland1 ,ohio1 and ,washington7 and #c ,states that do not have such requirements 7such as ,indiana1 ,michigan1 and ,pennsylvania74 #f4 ,public service loan forgiveness ,section #dee7m7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajhg;e7m77 is amended in paragraph 7#c77;,b7-- 7#a7 in clause 7i71 by striking or at the end2 7#b7 in clause 7ii71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iii7 a full-time job as an environmental health worker 7as defined in section #g of the ,environmental ,health ,workforce ,act of #bjai7 who is accredited1 certified1 or licensed in accordance with applicable law4 4 #g4 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the terms environmental health worker and environmental health workforce refer to public health workers who investigate and assess hazardous environmental agents in various environmental settings and develop1 promote1 and enforce guidelines1 policies1 and interventions to control such hazards4