,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aacg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #aj1    
#bjai,ms4 ,stabenow introduced the      
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,health1 
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to prioritize education and    
training for current and future members 
of the environmental health workforce4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,environmental ,health          
,workforce ,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,findings
 ,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,,astho71 between #bjaj and 
#bjaf1 the size of the public health    

workforce has decreased by approximately
 #i1bjj workers4  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 ,the #bjag hurricane 
season has-- 7,a7 devastated many       
cities1 counties1 and municipalities in 
,texas1 ,florida1 and ,puerto ,rico2    
7,b7 interrupted safe water supplies2   
7,c7 destroyed hospitals1 nursing homes1
 schools1 and childcare facilities2     
7,d7 disabled electricity power sources 
that keep our ,nation's food and water  
safe2 and  7,e7 flooded homes and       
commercial buildings that will have to  
be remediated from mold4  7#g7          
,disasters such as these demonstrate the
 role of the environmental health       
workforce in assuring that day care     

centers1 schools1 hospitals1 the water  
supply1 and food establishments are free
 from hazards that might cause serious  
illness or death4  7#h7 ,educating and  
training existing and new environmental 
health workers should be a national     
public health goal4  #c4 ,model         
standards and guidelines for            
credentialing environmental health      
workers  7a7 ,model ,standards  7#a7 ,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  7#b7     
,permissible content ,model standards   
and guidelines developed under paragraph
 7#a7 may include the following3 7,a7   
,environmental health workers should    

understand basic public health          
principles and the interdisciplinary    
nature of environmental health4  7,b7   
,environmental health workers should    
understand environmental protection and 
environmental health principles and     
practices4  7,c7 ,environmental health  
workers should understand basic         
government functions4  7,d7             
,environmental health workers should    
understand and be sensitive to the      
different cultures found in their       
institutions and communities4  7b7      
,provision of standards and technical   
assistance  7#a7 ,in general ,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            
implementing such model standards and   
guidelines for credentialing            
environmental health workers1 which may 
include providing additional training to

 assist in hiring practices that        
encourage hiring workforce staff who--  
7i7 understand and respond to changing  
demographics2 and  7ii7 promote         
under-represented populations in        
reaching effective health solutions4    
#d4 ,environmental ,health ,workforce   
,development ,plan  7a7 ,in general ,to 
ensure that programs and activities     
7including education1 training1 and     
payment programs7 administered by 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 determine the extent to     
which these programs and activities are 
meeting the ,department's strategic goal
 of strengthening the environmental     
health workforce2  7#b7 establishes a   
strategic goal to strengthen the        

environmental health workforce using the
 ,healthy ,people #bjbj environmental   
health workforce objectives of the      
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services as a guide2  7#c7 identifies  
any gaps in existing programs and       
activities 7as of the date of the plan7 
with regard to addressing future        
environmental health workforce needs    
identified in workforce projections of  
the ,health ,resources and ,services    
,administration in collaboration with   
the ,centers for ,disease ,control and  
,prevention2  7#d7 recommends actions to
 address such gaps2  7#e7 identifies    
best practices to engage underserved    
communities and promote workforce       
diversity2 and  7#f7 identifies any     
additional statutory authority that is  
needed by the ,department to implement  
such 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--  7#a7 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 7a72 and    
7#b7 post such plan on the website of   
the ,department of ,health and ,human   
,services4  #e4 ,reports and studies    
7a7 ,environmental health workforce     
development report ,not later than #b   
years after the date of enactment of    
this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of 
the ,united ,states shall--  7#a7       
examine and identify best practices     
implemented in ,states that are related 
to training and credentialing           
requirements for environmental health   
workers2 and  7#b7 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 and1 where         
appropriate1 evaluates--  7,a7 the types

 of environmental health workers        
employed at ,state and local health     
departments and independent             
environmental health agencies2  7,b7 the
 educational backgrounds of such        
workers2  7,c7 whether such workers are 
credentialed or registered1 and the type
 of credential or registration as       
applicable to each worker2  7,d7 the    
impact of ,state requirements for       
continuing education for such workers2  
7,e7 the impact of having ,state and    
local health departments and independent
 environmental health agencies track    
continuing education units for such     
workers2 and  7,f7 the frequency at     
which a ,state or local health          
department or other entity updates and  
reviews any examination required to     
qualify or assess environmental health  
workers to ensure that such examination 
is consistent with current law4  7b7    
,study on appropriate level of          
environmental health workforce and      
natural disaster preparedness ,not later

 than #b years after the date of        
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,health and ,human ,services shall   
collaborate with appropriate            
associations1 organizations1 and        
councils1 such as the ,national ,academy
 of ,medicine1 to conduct a study on--  
7#a7 environmental health in communities
 before and after natural disasters2 and
  7#b7 the role of environmental health 
workers to help improve environmental   
health4  #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act1
 the terms environmental health workers 
and environmental health workforce refer
 to public health workers who-- 7#a7    
investigate and assess hazardous        
environmental agents in various         
environmental settings2 and  7#b7       
develop1 promote1 and enforce           
guidelines1 policies1 and interventions 
to control such hazards4