[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1972 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1972

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit discrimination 
  regarding exposure to hazardous substances, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 19, 2007

Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
  Texas, Mr. Serrano, and Mrs. Christensen) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit discrimination 
  regarding exposure to hazardous substances, 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 ``Community Environmental Equity 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) There is a growing recognition that urban, low-income, 
        and minority communities tend to be overburdened with polluting 
        facilities such as waste transfer stations, power plants, 
        superfund sites, brownfields, and toxic release inventory 
        sites.
            (2) Poor and urban neighborhoods are forced to suffer the 
        effects associated with increased waste processing because they 
        often lack the resources to defend their rights and cannot 
        quantify unhealthy environmental factors.
            (3) Addressing the problem of contaminated surroundings 
        impacting low-income or minority communities must be a priority 
        of this Nation.
            (4) Health respiratory conditions such as asthma can be 
        traced to environmental conditions impacting a community such 
        as air pollution and biological contaminants.
            (5) Asthma is one of the leading chronic health conditions 
        in the United States (affecting over 15 million people) and the 
        leading chronic youth illness (affecting 6.5 million children).
            (6) At risk communities need resources to gather 
        information useful in planning preventive health and 
        environmental strategies to protect residents from polluting 
        conditions.
            (7) Alliances of community-based organizations and 
        community health centers are often in the best position to 
        develop neighborhood health profiles to assist heath policy 
        makers in assessing the health impact of future growth or 
        redevelopment.
            (8) Federal resources can help communities protect 
        themselves from being disproportionately exposed to 
        contaminants which can cause respiratory health complications 
        such as asthma.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to prevent any individual or community from being 
        disproportionately exposed to hazardous materials;
            (2) to enable government agencies to protect individuals 
        and communities from such exposure;
            (3) to give community-based organizations and community 
        health centers the tools necessary to measure neighborhood 
        impacts of environmental hazards; and
            (4) to enable such organizations and centers to maintain a 
        health profile for their communities and in this manner prevent 
        discriminatory exposure to hazardous substances.

SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION REGARDING EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.

    The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following title:

  ``TITLE XXX--DISCRIMINATION REGARDING EXPOSURE TO COVERED SUBSTANCES

``SEC. 3001. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this title:
            ``(1) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' means any 
        entity which handles, manages, treats, releases, discharges, 
        disposes of, stores, transports, removes, moves, or delivers 
        covered substances.
            ``(2) Covered substance.--The term `covered substance' 
        means any of the following:
                    ``(A) Any contaminant identified under the Safe 
                Drinking Water Act (title XIV of this Act).
                    ``(B) Any substance described in section 201(q) of 
                the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and any 
                material registered pursuant to the Act referred to in 
                paragraph (1) of such section.
                    ``(C) Any chemical listed by the National 
                Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and 
                Human Services as a known or probable human carcinogen.
                    ``(D) Any substance defined in section 101(14) of 
                the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
                and Liability Act of 1980 and any chemical subject to 
                section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community 
                Right-To-Know Act of 1986.
                    ``(E) Any material subject to the requirements 
                concerning material safety data sheets for chemicals 
                under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
                    ``(F) Any chemical substance or mixture regulated 
                under the Toxic Substance Control Act.
                    ``(G) Any hazardous waste identified under the 
                Solid Waste Disposal Act.
                    ``(H) Any pesticide registered under the  Federal 
                Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
                    ``(I) Any air pollutant regulated under  the Clean 
                Air Act.
                    ``(J) Such other contaminants, chemicals, 
                materials, wastes, and substances as the President, 
                acting through the head of the appropriate agency, 
                determines to be appropriate for purposes of this 
                title.

``SEC. 3002. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION.

    ``(a) In General.--A covered entity shall not, on the ground of 
race, color, national origin, or economic status, disproportionately 
expose any person or community to any covered substance.
    ``(b) Compliance.--
            ``(1) Identification.--A covered entity shall consult and 
        work in partnership with the States, local government 
        officials, and the Federal Government to comply with subsection 
        (a).
            ``(2) Addressing disproportionate exposure.--A covered 
        entity shall address the actual or potential disproportionate 
        exposure to covered substances of individuals or communities, 
        on the ground of race, color, national origin, or economic 
        status, prior to pursuing State and local administrative 
        proceedings to obtain authorization or approval to handle, 
        manage, treat, release, discharge, dispose of, transport, 
        remove, move, deliver or otherwise use covered substances.
    ``(c) Regulations.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President shall require the 
        appropriate Federal officials to issue regulations to implement 
        this section consistent with the provisions of section 602 of 
        the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relating to compliance.
            ``(2) Enforcement.--Compliance with this section may be 
        effectuated (1) by the termination of or refusal to grant 
        authorization to any covered entity to handle, manage, treat, 
        release, discharge, dispose of, store, transport, remove, move, 
        or deliver covered substances; or (2) by any other means 
        authorized by law. With respect to any covered entity that is a 
        recipient of Federal financial assistance, compliance may also 
        be effectuated pursuant to section 602 of the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1964.
            ``(3) Dates certain regarding regulations.--For purposes of 
        carrying out this section--
                    ``(A) proposed rules shall be issued not later than 
                6 months after the date of the enactment of the 
                Community Environmental Equity Act;
                    ``(B) final rules shall be issued not later than 18 
                months after such date of enactment; and
                    ``(C) such final rules shall take effect not later 
                than 30 months after such date of enactment.
    ``(d) Biennial Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on 
which final rules are issued pursuant to subsection (c)(3)(B), and 
every 2 years thereafter, the Federal Interagency Environmental Justice 
Working Group (established under Executive Order 12898 (February 11, 
1994)) shall submit to the Congress a report on activities carried out 
under this section.

``SEC. 3003. COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPACT PROFILE PROGRAM GRANTS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a Health Impact 
Profile Program for the purpose of making grants to community-based 
organizations and community health centers to assist in the planning 
and development of community health impact profiles.
    ``(b) Requirement.--The Secretary may not make a grant to a 
community-based organization or a community health center under this 
section unless the organization or center--
            ``(1) is located in the community in which the grant will 
        be used; or
            ``(2) enters into a partnership with an entity in such 
        community for purposes of carrying out the activities described 
        in subsection (c).
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--The Secretary may not make a grant to a 
community-based organization or a community health center under this 
section unless the organization or center agrees to use the grant for 
the following:
            ``(1) Conducting an overall neighborhood health assessment 
        to measure the prospective environmental health consequences 
        of--
                    ``(A) any significant proposed growth or 
                redevelopment plan; and
                    ``(B) any exposure in the community to covered 
                substances.
            ``(2) Building community expertise to develop health impact 
        profiles through community-based organizations and community 
        health centers.
            ``(3) Improving community ability to identify harmful 
        environmental exposure by covered entities.
            ``(4) Preserving a healthy and environmentally friendly 
        community.
    ``(d) Administrative Costs.--The Secretary may not make a grant to 
a community-based organization or a community health center under this 
section unless the organization or center agrees that, of the amount 
received through the grant, not more than 10 percent of such amount 
will be used to cover reasonable administrative costs necessary to 
carry out the activities described in subsection (c).
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2010. Funds appropriated under this section shall 
remain available until expended.''.
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