Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)
Today, U.S House Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and John Garamendi (D-CA) introduced the Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024, legislation to codify into law the only office within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dedicated to children’s health, the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP). This office would be responsible for rulemaking, policy, enforcement actions, research and applications of science that focuses on prenatal and childhood vulnerabilities, safe chemicals management; and coordination of community-based programs to eliminate threats to children’s health where they live, learn and play.
Similarly, the legislation would also make the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee a permanent advisory committee. This advisory committee will advise the EPA Administrator in regards to the activities of the Office of Children’s Health Protection, all relevant information regarding regulations, research, and communications related to children’s health, and continue to serve the EPA in protecting children from environmental harm.
The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 aims to ensure that no future President will be able to remove these safeguards that help shield children from environmental harms to their health.
“On Children’s Environmental Health Day, which highlights the urgent need to address the unique health risks children face from environmental factors, I am proud to introduce the Children’s Health Protection Act,” said Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY). “By codifying the 1997 Executive Order that created the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection—the only office within the EPA dedicated to children’s health—this bill makes certain that the Office will remain a critical resource for our children, no matter who is in the White House.”
“I am thrilled to partner with Congressman Nadler to protect children from exposure to toxic pollutants like lead and address health risks such as poor indoor air quality in our nation’s schools,” said Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA). “Our bill will ensure that the EPA prioritizes safeguarding children’s health, allowing them to grow up and become the next generation of American leaders. In 2018, the Trump Administration attempted to eliminate the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection, which plays a crucial role in ensuring that federal regulations for chemicals and other toxic substances account for children’s unique health needs. Congressman Nadler and I have introduced this commonsense bill to prevent any future administration from making such a reckless decision.”
In addition to Representatives Nadler and Garamendi, the bill also cosponsored by Representatives Grijalva, Evans, Watson Coleman, Holmes Norton, Salinas, Tlaib, Moulton, Kamlager-Dove, and Bush.
BACKGROUND:
Since its creation in 1997 through Executive Order, the EPA’s OCHP has been crucial in protecting children, who are uniquely vulnerable, from environmental hazards. It has done so through policy, research focusing on their unique prenatal and childhood health vulnerabilities, safe chemicals management, and coordination of community-based programs to eliminate threats to children’s health.
The OCHP also studies how natural disasters affect children’s health, not only through exposure to hazards like mold and water-borne pathogens but also by analyzing the mental toll of displacement and loss.
The Children’s Health Protection Act will ensure this vital work continues by strengthening and securing the OCHP and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee.
The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 is endorsed by a wide range of health advocacy groups and environmental justice organizations, including: Allergy & Asthma Network, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Lung Association, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, California Brain Tumor Association, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, Health Care Without Harm, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology: North America Chapter, Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, Moms Clean Air Force, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Center for Healthy Housing, National Environmental Health Association, Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Maine, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Texas, Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania, Prevention Institute, Rachel Carson Council, Rachel’s Network, San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sears-Swetland Family Foundation, Society for Public Health Education, Toxics Information Project (TIP), and 350 Bay Area Action.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
“It is very fitting that on Children’s Environmental Health Day, a day of action for and with our youth, Representative Nadler is introducing The Children’s Protection Act,” said Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network. “This Act would mandate that all aspects of a child’s well-being – health, education, safety, family and community unity, economic security and mobility, development, and identity – are foundational in developing new regulations that impact children in the United States and around the world. We have never seen an intention like this comprehensive approach to protecting all children, especially the most marginalized. It is critical and urgent for policy leaders to take a strong stand for the health and safety of children today and for generations to come.”
“Children are the brightest part about our future,” said Deb Brown, Chief Mission Officer of the American Lung Association. “That’s why it’s critical to do everything we can to protect them. With lungs and other organs that are still developing, children are more vulnerable to the health harms from air pollution. Ensuring there will continue to be an office and a team dedicated to protecting the health of children from environmental hazards is a small step that will reap large benefits for our future.”
“Nearly 5 million children in the United States have asthma, and asthma causes more missed school days than any other chronic disease,” said Kenneth Mendez, President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). “Environmental factors such as poor indoor air quality and outdoor air pollution play a role in making asthma symptoms worse. That’s why we need the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection – to focus attention on steps to reduce asthma triggers. We thank Rep. Nadler for introducing this legislation to make this office permanent and ensure the health concerns of children are at the forefront of the EPA’s work.”
“There are big gaps in our understanding of the long-term health outcomes resulting from exposure to the great number of toxins we’ve dumped into the environment over the last 50+ years,” said Sydney R. Sewall, MD, MPH, Pediatrician and President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine Chapter). “We do know that children are at greatest risk, and more EPA policies need to be directed at reducing this risk.”
“Children, and especially Black and Brown children, are uniquely vulnerable to the adverse health impacts – both physical and mental – of air pollution, extreme weather and environmental injustice,” said Almeta Cooper, National Manager for Health Equity of the Moms Clean Air Force. “Moms Clean Air Force is proud to endorse this legislation, which makes children’s health a permanent factor in EPA decision-making.”
“Children are disproportionately impacted by their environment because their bodies are still developing,” said Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). “They are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, hazardous chemicals and contaminated water. This bill will help to ensure that EPA maintains an Office of Childrens’ Health Protection to ensure better health and a better future for our children.”
“Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) commends Representative Nadler for safeguarding the health of children by introducing legislation to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent fixtures,” said Paige Knappenberger, Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Environment and Health Program. “As physicians, PSR members know that children have unique vulnerabilities to environmental harms like climate change and air pollution and deserve special protections from these harms so they can have safe places to grow, play and learn.”
“Pediatric nurse practitioners and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) deal every day with the harmful effects of environmental threats to the health of our nation’s children and adolescents,” said Dr. Daniel Crawford, President of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). “The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee play critically important roles in recognizing that children are often more likely to be at greater risk from environmental hazards than adults and that evidence-based federal policies eliminate or reduce those threats. NAPNAP applauds Congressman Nadler’s effort to permanently establish these important offices.”
“The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments enthusiastically endorses Rep. Nadler’s bill introduced this week, the “Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024”, said Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “This bill aims to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent. Established in 1997, OCHP is the only office within EPA dedicated to the health of children and as such, it safeguards our children from potential environmental harms to their health. We strongly urge members of Congress to support this bill to avoid any possibility of future administrations dismantling of this crucial office.”
“Since their inception in 1997, the EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Office (the Office) and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (the Committee) have been key in increasing the environmental health literacy in our country,” said the Rachel Carson Council. “Tasked with research, rulemaking, policymaking, and enforcement, the Office addresses chemical management, community programs, and more to tackle threats to prenatal and childhood environmental threats. The Committee has played an instrumental role in advising the EPA Administrator on the priorities of the Office. While the Office and Committee have been revitalized by the Biden-Harris Administration over the last four years, hostile administrations have attempted to de-staff and even dismantle these pillars of environmental justice for children, and they are susceptible to the same threats in the event of a less amenable administration taking office in the future. The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 will prove crucial in shielding children from the environmental harms that could affect millions across the United States. If passed, this bill would permanently establish both the Office and the Committee within the EPA, so that prenatal and childhood environmental harm reduction is a fortified, standing priority in the Agency. We applaud Representative Nadler’s recognition of the need to enshrine the work of the Office and the Committee into law so that some of the most vulnerable members of our society, children, will indefinitely enjoy protections from environmental harm.”
###
The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 is endorsed by a wide range of health advocacy groups and environmental justice organizations, including: Allergy & Asthma Network, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Lung Association, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, California Brain Tumor Association, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, Health Care Without Harm, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology: North America Chapter, Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, Moms Clean Air Force, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Center for Healthy Housing, National Environmental Health Association, Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Maine, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Texas, Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania, Prevention Institute, Rachel Carson Council, Rachel’s Network, San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sears-Swetland Family Foundation, Society for Public Health Education, Toxics Information Project (TIP), and 350 Bay Area Action.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
“It is very fitting that on Children’s Environmental Health Day, a day of action for and with our youth, Representative Nadler is introducing The Children’s Protection Act,” said Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network. “This Act would mandate that all aspects of a child’s well-being – health, education, safety, family and community unity, economic security and mobility, development, and identity – are foundational in developing new regulations that impact children in the United States and around the world. We have never seen an intention like this comprehensive approach to protecting all children, especially the most marginalized. It is critical and urgent for policy leaders to take a strong stand for the health and safety of children today and for generations to come.”
“Children are the brightest part about our future,” said Deb Brown, Chief Mission Officer of the American Lung Association. “That’s why it’s critical to do everything we can to protect them. With lungs and other organs that are still developing, children are more vulnerable to the health harms from air pollution. Ensuring there will continue to be an office and a team dedicated to protecting the health of children from environmental hazards is a small step that will reap large benefits for our future.”
“Nearly 5 million children in the United States have asthma, and asthma causes more missed school days than any other chronic disease,” said Kenneth Mendez, President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). “Environmental factors such as poor indoor air quality and outdoor air pollution play a role in making asthma symptoms worse. That’s why we need the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection – to focus attention on steps to reduce asthma triggers. We thank Rep. Nadler for introducing this legislation to make this office permanent and ensure the health concerns of children are at the forefront of the EPA’s work.”
“There are big gaps in our understanding of the long-term health outcomes resulting from exposure to the great number of toxins we’ve dumped into the environment over the last 50+ years,” said Sydney R. Sewall, MD, MPH, Pediatrician and President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine Chapter). “We do know that children are at greatest risk, and more EPA policies need to be directed at reducing this risk.”
“Children, and especially Black and Brown children, are uniquely vulnerable to the adverse health impacts – both physical and mental – of air pollution, extreme weather and environmental injustice,” said Almeta Cooper, National Manager for Health Equity of the Moms Clean Air Force. “Moms Clean Air Force is proud to endorse this legislation, which makes children’s health a permanent factor in EPA decision-making.”
“Children are disproportionately impacted by their environment because their bodies are still developing,” said Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). “They are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, hazardous chemicals and contaminated water. This bill will help to ensure that EPA maintains an Office of Childrens’ Health Protection to ensure better health and a better future for our children.”
“Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) commends Representative Nadler for safeguarding the health of children by introducing legislation to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent fixtures,” said Paige Knappenberger, Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Environment and Health Program. “As physicians, PSR members know that children have unique vulnerabilities to environmental harms like climate change and air pollution and deserve special protections from these harms so they can have safe places to grow, play and learn.”
“Pediatric nurse practitioners and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) deal every day with the harmful effects of environmental threats to the health of our nation’s children and adolescents,” said Dr. Daniel Crawford, President of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). “The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee play critically important roles in recognizing that children are often more likely to be at greater risk from environmental hazards than adults and that evidence-based federal policies eliminate or reduce those threats. NAPNAP applauds Congressman Nadler’s effort to permanently establish these important offices.”
“The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments enthusiastically endorses Rep. Nadler’s bill introduced this week, the “Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024”, said Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “This bill aims to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent. Established in 1997, OCHP is the only office within EPA dedicated to the health of children and as such, it safeguards our children from potential environmental harms to their health. We strongly urge members of Congress to support this bill to avoid any possibility of future administrations dismantling of this crucial office.”
“Since their inception in 1997, the EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Office (the Office) and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (the Committee) have been key in increasing the environmental health literacy in our country,” said the Rachel Carson Council. “Tasked with research, rulemaking, policymaking, and enforcement, the Office addresses chemical management, community programs, and more to tackle threats to prenatal and childhood environmental threats. The Committee has played an instrumental role in advising the EPA Administrator on the priorities of the Office. While the Office and Committee have been revitalized by the Biden-Harris Administration over the last four years, hostile administrations have attempted to de-staff and even dismantle these pillars of environmental justice for children, and they are susceptible to the same threats in the event of a less amenable administration taking office in the future. The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 will prove crucial in shielding children from the environmental harms that could affect millions across the United States. If passed, this bill would permanently establish both the Office and the Committee within the EPA, so that prenatal and childhood environmental harm reduction is a fortified, standing priority in the Agency. We applaud Representative Nadler’s recognition of the need to enshrine the work of the Office and the Committee into law so that some of the most vulnerable members of our society, children, will indefinitely enjoy protections from environmental harm.”
###
The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 is endorsed by a wide range of health advocacy groups and environmental justice organizations, including: Allergy & Asthma Network, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Lung Association, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, California Brain Tumor Association, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, Health Care Without Harm, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology: North America Chapter, Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, Moms Clean Air Force, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Center for Healthy Housing, National Environmental Health Association, Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Maine, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Texas, Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania, Prevention Institute, Rachel Carson Council, Rachel’s Network, San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sears-Swetland Family Foundation, Society for Public Health Education, Toxics Information Project (TIP), and 350 Bay Area Action.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
“It is very fitting that on Children’s Environmental Health Day, a day of action for and with our youth, Representative Nadler is introducing The Children’s Protection Act,” said Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network. “This Act would mandate that all aspects of a child’s well-being – health, education, safety, family and community unity, economic security and mobility, development, and identity – are foundational in developing new regulations that impact children in the United States and around the world. We have never seen an intention like this comprehensive approach to protecting all children, especially the most marginalized. It is critical and urgent for policy leaders to take a strong stand for the health and safety of children today and for generations to come.”
“Children are the brightest part about our future,” said Deb Brown, Chief Mission Officer of the American Lung Association. “That’s why it’s critical to do everything we can to protect them. With lungs and other organs that are still developing, children are more vulnerable to the health harms from air pollution. Ensuring there will continue to be an office and a team dedicated to protecting the health of children from environmental hazards is a small step that will reap large benefits for our future.”
“Nearly 5 million children in the United States have asthma, and asthma causes more missed school days than any other chronic disease,” said Kenneth Mendez, President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). “Environmental factors such as poor indoor air quality and outdoor air pollution play a role in making asthma symptoms worse. That’s why we need the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection – to focus attention on steps to reduce asthma triggers. We thank Rep. Nadler for introducing this legislation to make this office permanent and ensure the health concerns of children are at the forefront of the EPA’s work.”
“There are big gaps in our understanding of the long-term health outcomes resulting from exposure to the great number of toxins we’ve dumped into the environment over the last 50+ years,” said Sydney R. Sewall, MD, MPH, Pediatrician and President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine Chapter). “We do know that children are at greatest risk, and more EPA policies need to be directed at reducing this risk.”
“Children, and especially Black and Brown children, are uniquely vulnerable to the adverse health impacts – both physical and mental – of air pollution, extreme weather and environmental injustice,” said Almeta Cooper, National Manager for Health Equity of the Moms Clean Air Force. “Moms Clean Air Force is proud to endorse this legislation, which makes children’s health a permanent factor in EPA decision-making.”
“Children are disproportionately impacted by their environment because their bodies are still developing,” said Dr. David Dyjack, CEO of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). “They are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, hazardous chemicals and contaminated water. This bill will help to ensure that EPA maintains an Office of Childrens’ Health Protection to ensure better health and a better future for our children.”
“Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) commends Representative Nadler for safeguarding the health of children by introducing legislation to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent fixtures,” said Paige Knappenberger, Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Environment and Health Program. “As physicians, PSR members know that children have unique vulnerabilities to environmental harms like climate change and air pollution and deserve special protections from these harms so they can have safe places to grow, play and learn.”
“Pediatric nurse practitioners and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) deal every day with the harmful effects of environmental threats to the health of our nation’s children and adolescents,” said Dr. Daniel Crawford, President of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). “The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee play critically important roles in recognizing that children are often more likely to be at greater risk from environmental hazards than adults and that evidence-based federal policies eliminate or reduce those threats. NAPNAP applauds Congressman Nadler’s effort to permanently establish these important offices.”
“The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments enthusiastically endorses Rep. Nadler’s bill introduced this week, the “Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024”, said Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN, Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “This bill aims to make the EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) and the EPA Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee permanent. Established in 1997, OCHP is the only office within EPA dedicated to the health of children and as such, it safeguards our children from potential environmental harms to their health. We strongly urge members of Congress to support this bill to avoid any possibility of future administrations dismantling of this crucial office.”
“Since their inception in 1997, the EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Office (the Office) and the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (the Committee) have been key in increasing the environmental health literacy in our country,” said the Rachel Carson Council. “Tasked with research, rulemaking, policymaking, and enforcement, the Office addresses chemical management, community programs, and more to tackle threats to prenatal and childhood environmental threats. The Committee has played an instrumental role in advising the EPA Administrator on the priorities of the Office. While the Office and Committee have been revitalized by the Biden-Harris Administration over the last four years, hostile administrations have attempted to de-staff and even dismantle these pillars of environmental justice for children, and they are susceptible to the same threats in the event of a less amenable administration taking office in the future. The Children’s Health Protection Act of 2024 will prove crucial in shielding children from the environmental harms that could affect millions across the United States. If passed, this bill would permanently establish both the Office and the Committee within the EPA, so that prenatal and childhood environmental harm reduction is a fortified, standing priority in the Agency. We applaud Representative Nadler’s recognition of the need to enshrine the work of the Office and the Committee into law so that some of the most vulnerable members of our society, children, will indefinitely enjoy protections from environmental harm.”
###
MIL OSI USA News –
