Preventing HEAT Illness and Deaths Act of 2025
H.R. 5104, the Preventing HEAT Illness and Deaths Act of 2025, would create a national, coordinated approach to extreme heat and heat-health risks. The bill would establish the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and form a National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee to lead planning, data sharing, research, and interagency action across multiple federal agencies. It aims to improve heat forecasts, warnings, and decision-support tools; advance data management and surveillance; fund resilience projects at the community level; and require a study by the National Academies to identify gaps in knowledge, data, and policy, with a public report and recommended actions. The programs emphasize equity, with explicit priorities for communities facing environmental justice concerns and heat disparities. If enacted, the bill could expand federal heat-health information available to states, local governments, and communities, bolster protection for vulnerable populations (elderly, low-income communities, communities of color, Tribal nations, outdoor workers, etc.), support cooling and resilience infrastructure, and provide targeted funding for prevention and preparedness efforts. The approach combines data infrastructure, interagency coordination, research, and grant-based funding to reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths across multiple time scales (days to decades).
Key Points
- 1Establishment of NIHHIS and an Interagency Committee: The bill creates the National Integrated Heat Health Information System within NOAA and an interagency committee with broad federal agency participation to coordinate a united federal approach to reducing heat-health risks across planning, preparedness, response, and long-term resilience.
- 2Data, forecasting, and decision-support focus: NIHHIS aims to improve data delivery, forecasts, warnings, and decision-support tools related to temperature and extreme heat, with an emphasis on disproportionately affected communities. It also requires data management that is open, interoperable, and governed by FAIR and CARE principles.
- 3National Academies study on extreme heat information and response: Within 120 days of enactment, the Under Secretary of Commerce (NOAA) would seek an agreement with the National Academies to study gaps in policy, data, and operations related to extreme heat, with a final report due within 3 years and a public briefing of findings.
- 4Community Heat Resilience Program (grants and other financial assistance): The bill authorizes a new program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities (nonprofits, states, tribes, local governments, workforce boards, academic institutions, and centers of excellence) to fund projects that reduce heat-health risks, improve cooling and resilience, and enhance local planning and response capabilities. At least 40% of annual funding must benefit communities with environmental justice concerns or low-income communities.
- 5Eligible activities and equity emphasis: Projects include cool roofs/pavements, urban greening/tree planting, cooling and resilience centers, retrofitting buildings, grid resilience for cooling, energy efficiency, improved filtration/air conditioning, workplace policies, public education, and local heat action planning. Priority is given to historically disadvantaged communities and those with significant heat disparities.
- 6Authorization of funding: The bill specifies annual appropriations (2026–2030) for the NIHHIS/Interagency Committee, the NAS study, and the Community Heat Resilience Program, with distinct year-by-year amounts to support administration, research, and resilience grants.