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.

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.