[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 585 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 585
Recognizing the threat of extreme weather to children's health and
well-being, and expressing the sense of Congress that solutions must be
rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique
vulnerabilities and needs of children.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2025
Ms. McClellan (for herself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Bonamici, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Mullin, Mr.
Thanedar, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Cohen, Mr.
Huffman, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Titus, Mr. Johnson of Georgia,
Mr. Soto, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Tonko,
Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Dexter, Mr. Takano, Ms. McCollum, Ms.
Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Peters, Ms. Adams, Mr. Carson,
Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the threat of extreme weather to children's health and
well-being, and expressing the sense of Congress that solutions must be
rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique
vulnerabilities and needs of children.
Whereas the summer of 2024 was the hottest summer in recorded history, with
life-threatening heat impacting communities across the United States and
heat-related deaths rising significantly over the past decade;
Whereas the United States has experienced extraordinary wildfire impacts over
the past several years, including unprecedented wildfire smoke and
dangerous air quality days across the country;
Whereas there is strong scientific consensus that trends of more frequent and
intense extreme weather and worsened air quality will continue to
escalate in the coming decades;
Whereas the threats of extreme heat and air pollution are closely related, with
extreme heat contributing to conditions conducive to wildfires and hot,
sunny days linked to increased formation of ozone pollution;
Whereas babies, children, and adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to the health
impacts of extreme weather, including heat-related illness, increased
respiratory disease, infectious diseases, storm-related displacement,
and adverse psychological outcomes;
Whereas young people's vulnerability to extreme weather and poor air quality is
inherent to their developing bodies and behavioral patterns, such as the
fact that children take more breaths per minute than adults and are
disproportionately exposed to pollutants in the air;
Whereas exposure to extreme heat and air pollution during pregnancy have been
linked to adverse birth outcomes that can have lasting and sometimes
devastating consequences, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and
stillbirth;
Whereas schools across the country are increasingly closing for heat days, and
extreme heat is linked to impairment in children's cognition, making it
harder for them to learn at school and disrupting academic performance;
Whereas children and adolescents exposed to outdoor labor, including both the
children of adult farmworkers and the estimated 500,000 child
farmworkers in the United States, are especially vulnerable to the
health impacts of extreme heat;
Whereas increased drought occurrence and severity threaten food and water
security, and babies, children, adolescents, and pregnant people are
more vulnerable to malnutrition;
Whereas young people's respiratory health is threatened by air quality worsened
by increasing wildfire smoke, changing dust patterns, and more ozone
days;
Whereas children and adolescents are already experiencing a mental health crisis
and are more vulnerable than adults to experiencing interruption in
education, separation from or harm to caregivers, adverse mental health
impacts, and potentially life-altering trauma due to extreme weather
disasters;
Whereas the stress of maternal exposure to disasters like hurricanes and
wildfires during pregnancy heightens the risk of adverse birth outcomes
and adverse mental health outcomes in their children;
Whereas the health of all babies, children, and adolescents is a fundamental
building block of a healthy society; and
Whereas young people's unique vulnerabilities to the health harms of extreme
weather and air pollution require specifically tailored considerations:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses the sense that adaptations to and protections
from extreme weather conditions must be developed and deployed
rapidly and equitably, with consideration for the physical and
mental health needs of both the current generation and all
future generations of young people;
(2) expresses the sense that legislation and funding
addressing adaptation to and protections from extreme weather
conditions must include considerations and solutions tailored
to the unique physical and mental health vulnerabilities and
needs of babies, children, adolescents, and their families; and
(3) expresses the sense that adaptive measures may include,
but are not limited to--
(A) accurate, timely, and easily accessible public
alerts before, during, and after extreme weather
events, such as hazardous air quality days, wildfires,
extreme heat, strong storms, or anticipated flooding;
(B) mutual aid networks, caregiver support, and
community resilience programs;
(C) language-accessible public information
campaigns, such as for air quality, extreme heat, or
disaster preparedness;
(D) incorporation of education about the unique
vulnerabilities of children and pregnant people to
extreme weather into professional training for health
care professionals, educators, and child care
providers;
(E) incorporation of perspectives of parents,
caregivers, and other child care providers into
disaster resilience planning efforts;
(F) inclusion of education about the consequences
of heat exposure and first-aid treatment measures for
hyperthermia;
(G) improved guidance for schools and child care
providers on extreme weather, extreme heat, and air
pollution for schools;
(H) improved air filtration systems in homes,
schools, and child care facilities to address numerous
sources of air pollution, including wildfire smoke,
vehicle exhaust, and pollen;
(I) updated physical and technological
infrastructure of schools, child care facilities, and
health care delivery systems serving children to
withstand extreme weather disruption;
(J) expanded access to public shaded green space,
particularly in urban heat islands;
(K) expanded access to safe places for children and
families during extreme weather and air pollution
events, such as indoor play spaces, child-friendly
cooling centers, and child-friendly ``clean rooms''
during wildfire smoke events;
(L) access to diapers, baby bottles and formula,
safe and hygienic nursing spaces, and other critical
supplies for babies in spaces where families may
congregate during and after extreme weather, such as
evacuation centers, emergency shelters, and cooling
centers;
(M) distribution of infant feeding kits before,
during, and after emergencies;
(N) adequate shade at playgrounds and school bus
stops;
(O) distribution of appropriate child-sized masks
during wildfire smoke events or days of unhealthy air
quality; and
(P) expanded access to hydration and refilling
stations.
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