HR-3704-119
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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.
Sponsored by Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ)
What it does
This bill would establish two new federal structures within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), a data and forecasting platform, and an Interagency Committee spanning more than a dozen federal agencies to coordinate the government's response to heat-related health risks. The Committee would be required to produce a 5-year strategic plan within two years of enactment and update it every five years. The bill would authorize $5 million per year for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 — a total of $25 million — to fund both structures.
Who benefits
People who are most vulnerable to extreme heat, including outdoor workers, elderly individuals, low-income households without air conditioning, people experiencing homelessness, and residents of urban "heat islands." Tribal communities would benefit from dedicated representation via the Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs. State, local, and tribal emergency managers would gain access to better-coordinated federal data and forecasting tools. Researchers and public health professionals would benefit from improved, openly available heat-health data. Communities in historically hot regions (e.g., the Southwest) as well as regions experiencing increasing heat events (e.g., the Pacific Northwest) would benefit from improved early warning systems.
Who is hurt
Federal agencies represented on the Committee would bear administrative and staffing costs beyond the authorized appropriation. NOAA would take on new coordination and data management responsibilities. Taxpayers would fund the $25 million authorization. To the extent the strategic plan leads to future regulatory or spending actions, industries with high outdoor labor exposure (agriculture, construction) could face additional compliance requirements, though the bill itself does not impose any such requirements.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States, killing more people annually than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined, according to CDC data. They contend that the current federal response is fragmented across more than a dozen agencies with no unified coordination structure, and that this bill directly addresses that gap by creating a single interagency body with a clear mandate and a modest $5 million annual budget. They further argue that improved heat forecasting and data sharing would allow state and local governments to issue earlier warnings and deploy resources more effectively, potentially saving lives at relatively low cost.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill creates a new layer of federal bureaucracy — a multi-agency committee with co-chairs, quarterly meetings, and a 5-year strategic plan — without guaranteeing measurable outcomes or accountability mechanisms tied to the funding. They contend that existing agencies such as NOAA, CDC, and FEMA already have heat-related mandates and that adding a coordinating committee risks duplicating efforts and diffusing responsibility rather than sharpening it. They further argue that $25 million over five years is insufficient to produce meaningful infrastructure improvements, making the bill largely symbolic while consuming congressional and agency bandwidth.