This bill would establish the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) within NOAA and create a cross‑agency Interagency Committee to coordinate federal heat health efforts. It also requires a study on extreme heat information and response and creates a Community Heat Resilience Program to fund locally focused projects.
The aim is to improve data, planning, and funding to reduce heat‑related illness and death across timescales and populations.
At a Glance
What It Does
Establishes the NIHHIS Interagency Committee under NOAA to coordinate heat risk reduction across federal agencies, and creates the NIHHIS System led by a Director to deliver data, forecasts, tools, and decision support. It also requires a national study and authorizes grant programs for resilience.
Who It Affects
Federal agencies, state and local governments, researchers, emergency responders, healthcare and public health networks, workers in high-heat environments, and communities with environmental justice concerns.
Why It Matters
Creates a unified federal approach to heat risk—standardizing data, improving forecasting and decision support, and directing funds to communities most in need, including EJ and low-income areas.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill kicks off by naming the Preventing HEAT Illness and Deaths Act of 2025 and then lays out a broad framework for addressing heat-related health risks. It authorizes a National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) that will be housed within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NIHHIS is designed to collect and share data, develop tools, and support decision-making to reduce heat-health impacts, with a focus on vulnerable communities. A key feature is the establishment of an interagency committee that brings together many federal agencies to coordinate heat planning, preparedness, response, and research across multiple timescales—from days to decades.
The bill envisions a planning-and-preparedness ecosystem supported by a Director who will manage relationships, data, and user-facing services, and who will work with centers of excellence to deliver technical assistance.
In tandem with governance, the bill creates a separate funding mechanism—the Community Heat Resilience Program—to finance projects aimed at reducing heat risk and improving resilience. Eligible recipients include nonprofits, states, Indian Tribes, local governments, workforce boards, academic institutions, and designated Centers of Excellence.
A core equity feature requires at least 40 percent of annual resilience funding go to communities with environmental justice concerns or low-income communities, with an emphasis on geographic distribution and fairness. The legislation also requires a study by the National Academies on extreme heat information and response, to be conducted within a tight 3-year window, identifying data gaps, policy needs, and opportunities to improve heat risk management.
Finally, the act authorizes appropriations through 2030 for the NIHHIS, its interagency committee, the NIHHIS System, the study, and the resilience grants program, signaling a multi-year federal investment in heat health infrastructure and equity-focused adaptation.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Section 4 creates the National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee within NOAA to coordinate federal heat health efforts.
Section 5 establishes the NIHHIS System, headed by a Director, to deliver data, forecasts, and decision support while engaging centers of excellence.
Section 6 requires a National Academies study on extreme heat information and response, due within 3 years of enactment.
Section 7 creates a Community Heat Resilience Program to fund projects reducing heat-health risks, with a 40% minimum allocation to environmental justice or low-income communities.
Section 8 authorizes multi-year appropriations for NIHHIS, the study, and resilience grants through 2030.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short Title
This Act may be cited as the “Preventing Health Emergencies And Temperature-related Illness and Deaths Act of 2025” or the “Preventing HEAT Illness and Deaths Act of 2025.” The short title sets the legislative framing for the bill and signals its focus on health impacts from heat.
Definitions
Key terms define the scope of the bill, including “extreme heat” (duration, intensity, season length, frequency), “planning” (timescales with action-based information), “preparedness” (decision-support tools for heat risk before events), and “urban heat island.” The definitions frame who is affected and how heat risk is measured and managed.
Findings
Findings underscore extreme heat as a leading cause of weather-related death and project rising heat frequency and intensity. They highlight vulnerable populations (older adults, low-income communities, urban residents), environmental justice concerns, the data gaps hindering heat planning, and the need for cross-sector, transdisciplinary approaches to heat resilience.
National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee
This section establishes the interagency committee within NOAA to coordinate a united federal approach to reducing heat risks across timescales. It lists agency representation, selection of co-chairs from multiple departments, and responsibilities including setting agendas, directing work, and convening quarterly meetings. The committee is tasked with strategic planning, coordination of research and communication, and building partnerships.
National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS)
NIHHIS is established under NOAA to deliver data, forecasts, and decision-support tools related to temperature and heat impacts, with a focus on disproportionately affected communities. It mandates a Director to oversee data sharing, partnerships, and collaboration with centers of excellence to support heat resilience and life-saving applications.
Study on Extreme Heat Information and Response
Within 120 days, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, in consultation with the Committee and others, must contract with the National Academies to conduct a study on extreme heat information and response. The study identifies gaps in data and policy, provides recommendations, and explores operational and equity-focused improvements for heat risk planning and communication.
Financial Assistance for Resilience
The bill creates a Community Heat Resilience Program to provide grants, contracts, prizes, or cooperative agreements for projects that reduce heat-health risks. Eligible recipients include nonprofits, states, Tribes, local governments, workforce boards, higher education institutions, and designated Centers of Excellence. The program prioritizes historically disadvantaged communities, with a minimum 40 percent of funding directed to EJ or low-income communities, and aims for geographic equity.
Authorization of Appropriations
Authorizes annual funding through 2030 for NIHHIS activities, the interagency committee, the NIHHIS system, the study, and the resilience program, with specific annual amounts outlined for each year and component.
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Who Benefits
- Communities with environmental justice concerns and low-income communities, which receive a minimum 40% of resilience funding to address local heat risks.
- Emergency responders, public health agencies, and healthcare providers who gain better data, forecasts, and planning tools to protect lives during heat events.
- State and local governments and urban planners who can implement heat mitigation and resilience projects with federal support and standardized data.
- Workers in high-heat environments and employers who can apply heat risk reduction measures and benefit from improved energy resilience and planning.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal agencies and the NOAA-led NIHHIS system will incur start-up and ongoing operating costs to manage data, carry out interagency coordination, and support decision tools.
- States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit recipients who may incur compliance costs and deploy resilience projects funded by the program.
- Energy utilities, building owners, and infrastructure operators who may face costs related to retrofits and resilience investments to reduce heat impacts and maintain service during heat events.
- Taxpayers fund the resilience grants and system operations through appropriations, and there is potential for budget trade-offs with other programs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing nationwide, coordinated federal action with state, local, and community autonomy and ensuring that funding reaches the communities most affected without creating excessive bureaucracy or misallocation of resources.
The bill creates a federally coordinated, data-driven approach to heat health with substantial funding and new governance. However, significant implementation questions remain.
Data governance, privacy, and accessibility will need careful handling as data are shared across agencies and with the public. The program’s success hinges on sustained funding, effective interagency collaboration, and the ability to translate data and risk modeling into concrete local actions.
The 40% EJ/low-income funding mandate is ambitious and will require precise targeting to avoid dilution or misallocation. The strategic plan and updates to Congress every five years will need robust monitoring to show real improvements in heat resilience and health outcomes.
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