East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act of 2024

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary), acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and, as appropriate, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, shall—

(1) award a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement to an eligible entity, for purposes of—

(A) conducting a study on the human health impacts as a consequence of the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and subsequent venting and burning of liquid chemicals;

(B) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until submission of the report under subparagraph (C), submitting to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the progress of the study under subparagraph (A); and

(C) not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, completing such study and submitting a report to the Secretary, which shall include any appropriate recommendations;

(2) submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the results of the study and report under paragraph (1); and

(3) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until submission of the report under paragraph (2), submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the progress of the study, as reported by the eligible entity pursuant to paragraph (1)(B).

To be eligible for the award under subsection (a)(1), an entity shall be a group of public or private institutions of higher education that demonstrates requisite capacity and expertise to carry out the study described in such subsection and that has a physical presence in the 2 States directly impacted by the derailment, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Heath, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out the study under this subsection.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall award a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement to an eligible entity for purposes of conducting a longitudinal study on any human health effects as a consequence of the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and subsequent venting and burning of chemicals.

To be eligible for the award under subsection (a), an entity shall be a consortium of public or private institutions of higher education that demonstrates requisite capacity and expertise to carry out the study described in such subsection. The Secretary shall give additional consideration to eligible entities that have established relationships within the affected communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives—

(1) not later than 2 years after the date on which an award is made under subsection (a), a report summarizing the progress of the study under such subsection, including a description of any challenges related to conducting the study and an anticipated timeline for completion of the study and publication of the results of the study; and

(2) not later than 1 year after publication of the results of the study, a report describing such results and any ongoing or planned activities of the Secretary to support or conduct further research or, as appropriate, otherwise address the findings of such study.

To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025, to remain available until September 30, 2029.