H.R. 10007: Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2026

The bill would direct the federal government to take several steps aimed at strengthening the environmental health workforce, which includes public health workers who inspect, investigate, and help control environmental hazards.

What the bill says about the problem

The bill states that state and local health agencies have lost many environmental health workers over time, that more workers are expected to retire in the coming years, and that many agencies say they do not have enough staff or training capacity. It also notes that only some states currently require credentials for these workers.

New federal standards for credentials

Within one year of enactment, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers. The department would also have to share those standards with state, local, and tribal governments and provide technical assistance to help them use the standards.

Workforce development plan

The Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to create a coordinated plan for the department’s programs related to environmental health workforce development, including education, training, and payment programs. The plan would need to:

• include performance measures to see whether the programs are meeting workforce goals,
• identify gaps between current programs and future workforce needs,
• describe actions needed to fix those gaps, and
• identify any additional legal authority the department would need to carry out those actions.

This plan would have to be sent to Congress within two years.

Report on state best practices

Also within two years, the Comptroller General (the head of the Government Accountability Office) would have to study best practices in six states: three states with credentialing requirements and three without them. The report would look at:

• what kinds of environmental health workers are employed,
• their educational backgrounds,
• whether they are credentialed or registered,
• state continuing education requirements,
• whether agencies track continuing education credits, and
• how often exams used for qualification are updated.

Student loan forgiveness eligibility

The bill would also change the Public Service Loan Forgiveness rules so that a full-time job as an environmental health worker could count as qualifying public service, as long as the worker is accredited, certified, or licensed under applicable law.

Definition of environmental health worker

For this bill, environmental health workers are defined as public health workers who assess hazardous environmental agents in different settings and develop or enforce policies, guidelines, and interventions to reduce those hazards.

Relevant Companies

None found.