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Government & External Affairs

The Government & External Affairs (G&EA) program has three distinct elements: policy and legislation; liaison with federal, state, and local government agencies; and liaison with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private industry. This program tracks key pieces of legislation, conducts research for NEHA legislative and policy positions, and works under the direction of the Board of Directors in communicating these policy positions. Many position papers have been developed from these policies and issues critical to environmental health.

NEHA has strong relationships with federal government agencies, such as with the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, National Center for Environmental Health (CDC/NCEH) and in particular CDC/NCEH’s Environmental Health Services Branch (EHSB). NEHA also has important relationships with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally, a large part of the G&EA program has been the establishment of external liaisons with NGOs and private industry such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and NSF International. And the G&EA program has key relationships with academic institutions such as the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Rhode Island, and many others.

The following list begins to describe the volume of work the Government & External Affairs program does in the areas of legislation, policy-making, and establishing liaisons:

• Endorsed the Healthy Places Act of 2006;

• Mobilized the NEHA membership to communicate to Congress in support of restoring funding to NCEH in the federal fiscal-year ’07 budget;

• Submitted written support for NCEH’s fiscal-year ’07 budget request to the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations;

• Obtained membership in the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR);

• Endorsed the All-Hazards Public Health Emergency and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act;

• Presented a public-health-workforce-development needs assessment to staff of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness;

• Is developing, in cooperation with the National Center for Healthy Housing, a certification program for healthy homes;

• Collaborated with CDC on developing national performance standards for the environmental health workforce;

• Endorsed public health workforce development legislation;

• Developed and submitted a position paper on including environmental health in public health education;

• Developed a position of support for recommendations made by the Trust for America’s Health and the Infectious Disease Society of America concerning pandemic flu preparedness;

• Endorsed environmental public health tracking legislation;

• Developed a position paper that detailed the relationship between generalist and specialist credentialing in environmental health as it relates to the R.E.H.S./R.S. and C.F.S.P. credentials;

• Endorsed CDC’s National Strategy to Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services;

• Opposed legislation pre-empting local control over food safety programs (H.R. 4167; Fact Sheet);

• Participated in developing the NCEH/Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) research agenda;

• Developed a formal position on the relationship between environmental health and public health nursing for CDC;

• Facilitated work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) workgroup reviewing HACCP standards for school food operations;

• Participated in the USDA HACCP workgroup reviewing inspection standards for school food operations;

• Participated in the development and promotion of an operational definition for environmental health;

• Participates in the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (workforce recruitment, retention, and certification issues);

• Participates in CDC’s Emerging Leaders Program;

• Participated in CDC’s Futures Initiative;

• Participates in CDC’s Epi-X Forum;

• Participates in the Public Health Systems Research Interest Group;

• Participates in meetings of the Conference for Food Protection;

• Serves as lead organization in a workgroup developing a military career guide for public/private-sector placement in environmental health;

• Collaborates with CDC in defining the environmental health role in emergency planning/terrorism response;

• Held a seat on the search committee for the new director of NCEH/ATSDR;

• Initiated formal discussions with CDC/NCEH-ATSDR on future projects and collaboration with NEHA, and developed a blueprint document outlining long-term cooperative ventures of the two organizations;

• Is one of the U.S. EPA’s National Cooperative Partners for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ);

• Participates in U.S. EPA’s national symposium on IAQ in schools;

• Has signed U.S. EPA’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a cooperative-partner network for onsite wastewater management systems;

• Is a member of CDC’s national partner group for environmental public health tracking;

• Participates in CDC’s Environmental Public Health Workforce Development Consortium;

• Participated in CDC’s Tier II workforce development committee;

• Participates in CDC’s national partner group for land use/community design;

• Participates in the National Coalition for Food-Safe Schools;

• Participated in the development and distribution of the Food-Safe Schools Action Guide;

• Is a member of the Clean Hands Coalition;

• Is a member of the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention;

• Served as lead, in cooperation with the CDC Food Safety Office, in developing, promoting, and conducting training for Epi-Ready foodborne-outbreak investigation strategies;

• Developed the Epi-Ready Train-the-Trainer Program in cooperation with the CDC Food Safety Office and the FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs;

• Served as lead in developing, administering, and promoting a certification credential for onsite wastewater professionals;

• Is a member of the Mosquito Control Collaborative;

• Set up strategic board committees to develop and advocate for positions on sustainability, workforce development, international environmental health, and the marketing of our profession;

• Developed, in cooperation with NCEH, the U.S. Army, and private industry, a vector control program for presentation at NEHA conferences;

• Represented NEHA at the National Press Club news conference launching the MOU agreement among national partners for onsite wastewater management;

• Represented NEHA at the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council Meeting;

• Represented NEHA at the 2005 Surgeon General’s Workshop on Healthy Indoor Environment;

• Represented NEHA at national public health preparedness meetings; and

• Established cooperative work projects with NSF International, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the National Swimming Pool Foundation.

The Government & External Affairs program also has formal working relationships with and represents NEHA on working committees of other national organizations:

• American Lung Association (ALA)

• American Nurses Foundation (ANF)

• American Planning Association (APA)

• American Public Health Association (APHA)

• American Water Works Association (AWWA)

• Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP)

• Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)

• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)

• Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI)

• Consumer Federation of America (CFA)

• Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)

• Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)

• Environmental Law Institute (ELI)

• International City/County Management Association (ICMA)

• International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH)

• Kid’s First, Inc.

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

• National Association of Counties (NACo)

• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)

• National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH)

• National Association of Wastewater Transporters, Inc. (NAWT)

• National Conference of Local Environmental Health Administrators (NCLEHA)

• National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA)

• School Nutrition Association (SNA)

• Soap and Detergent Association (SDA)