Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 10007 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10007 To prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental health professionals. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 30, 2026 Mr. Thanedar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To prioritize educating and training for existing and new environmental health professionals. 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 ``Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The environmental health workforce is vital to protecting the health and safety of the public. (2) For years, State and local governmental public health agencies have reported substantial workforce losses and other challenges to the environmental health workforce. (3) According to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), more than 50,600 State and local environmental health workforce jobs have been lost since 2008. This represents approximately 22 percent of the total State and local environmental health workforce. (4) In the coming years, the retiring Baby Boomer Generation will lead to a further decrease in the environmental health workforce. (5) According to the National Environmental Health Association, more than 67 percent of Tribal envir