[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9982 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9982
To require the Office of Children's Health Protection to be maintained
within the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 11, 2024
Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Evans, Mrs.
Watson Coleman, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Tlaib,
Mr. Moulton, Ms. Bush, and Mr. Goldman of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Office of Children's Health Protection to be maintained
within the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Health Protection Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF CHILDREN'S HEALTH PROTECTION.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall maintain, within the Agency, the Office of Children's
Health Protection.
(b) Director.--
(1) In general.--The Office shall be headed by a director.
(2) Appointment.--The Director of the Office shall be
appointed by, and report to, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency. In making such appointment,
the Administrator shall take into consideration the
recommendations of the Children's Health Protection Advisory
Committee.
(3) Co-chair of president's task force.--The Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall delegate to the
Director of the Office responsibility to serve as Co-Chair, on
behalf of the Administrator, of the President's Task Force on
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children
established by Executive Order 13045 (62 Fed. Reg. 19885 et
seq.).
(c) Duties.--The Director of the Office shall--
(1) identify and assess environmental health risks and
safety risks that may disproportionately affect infants,
children, and adolescents;
(2) work to ensure that Federal policies, programs,
activities, and standards address disproportionate risks to
infants, children, and adolescents that result from
environmental health risks or safety risks, including
consideration of the unique environmental justice concerns
affecting infants, children, and adolescents;
(3) coordinate Federal research and programs, including
grant programs, to advance the activities described in
paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4) carry out national activities to--
(A) reduce negative environmental impacts on
infants, children, and adolescents through involvement
in rulemaking, policy, enforcement actions, research,
and applications of science that focuses on prenatal
and childhood vulnerabilities;
(B) help protect infants, children, and adolescents
through promoting and issuing guidance for safe
chemicals management;
(C) coordinate community-based programs to
eliminate threats to infants', children's, and
adolescents' health;
(D) increase the environmental health literacy of
health care providers through support of pediatric
environmental health specialty units;
(E) evaluate and communicate trends in
environmental contaminants that may contribute to
childhood disease;
(F) develop and publish resources for local
educational agencies to establish, maintain, or enhance
a school environmental health program; and
(G) otherwise protect infants, children, and
adolescents from environmental health risks or safety
risks.
(d) Transition.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall make such changes to the Office of Children's Health
Protection of the Environmental Protection Agency, as in existence on
the day before the date of enactment of this Act, as may be necessary
for such Office to become the Office required by subsection (a).
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $7,842,000 for fiscal year 2025
and each subsequent fiscal year.
SEC. 3. CHILDREN'S HEALTH PROTECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall maintain an advisory committee, to be known as
the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee, to--
(1) provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator
and other officials of the Environmental Protection Agency
regarding the programs and activities of the Office;
(2) advise the Administrator and other officials of the
Environmental Protection Agency on regulations, research, and
communications related to infant's, children's and adolescent's
health; and
(3) support the Environmental Protection Agency, including
the Office, in implementing under Executive Order 13045 and
other issues related to infants', children's, and adolescents'
health protection as deemed appropriate by the Administrator.
(b) Applicability of FACA.--The Children's Health Protection
Advisory Committee shall be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.), except that the Children's Health Protection
Advisory Committee shall be a permanent advisory committee and shall
not terminate under section 14 of such Act.
(c) Transition.--The President, acting through the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency, shall make such changes to the
Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee established pursuant to
Executive Order 13045 (62 Fed. Reg. 19885; April 23, 1997) as may be
necessary for such Advisory Committee to become the advisory committee
required by this section.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``Children's Health Protection Advisory
Committee'' means the advisory committee maintained pursuant to
section 3.
(2) The term ``local educational agency'' has the meaning
given to such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(3) The term ``Office'' means the Office of Children's
Health Protection maintained pursuant to section 2.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated
$13,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
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