Heat Emergency Assessment and Tracking using AI Act
Sponsored By: Representative Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
Introduced
Summary
Use of AI to detect and prevent heat-related illness and deaths. The HEAT AI Act creates a Health and Human Services program to fund AI tools that analyze medical records, death certificates, coroner reports, local weather, and occupational data to find heat-related cases current systems miss.
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- Families and communities: Grant-backed outreach and training will raise awareness of symptoms, risk factors, and local prevention and treatment resources.
- Clinicians and health systems: Competitive grants to 3 to 5 entities will develop, test, and deploy AI tools and train clinicians to better identify, diagnose, and manage heat-related illness.
- Public health agencies and researchers: The program requires coordination with state health and medicolegal investigators, annual progress reports to Congress starting 1 year after enactment, and a final evaluation by September 30, 2031 that includes costs and benefits.
*Authorizes $25.0 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, increasing federal spending over that period.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Federal grants for AI heat tracking
If enacted, HHS would award competitive grants to between 3 and 5 eligible groups to build and test AI tools that detect heat-related illness and deaths. The bill would authorize $25,000,000 per year for each fiscal year 2027 through 2031 (total authorized $125 million). Grants would pay to analyze medical and death records, add local weather and job data, run surveillance tools, train clinicians, and do community outreach. Awardees must represent diverse climates and populations and include at least one urban and one rural community.
National heat reporting and study
If enacted, the CDC Director would issue national guidelines within 2 years to standardize how heat-related illnesses and deaths are documented and coded, including ICD external cause codes. The HHS Secretary would complete a study within 2 years to estimate how many deaths are attributable to heat as a primary, secondary, or tertiary cause, working with state health and vital statistics offices. The Secretary would also send Congress a progress report within 1 year and annually until a final report due by September 30, 2031. By that final report date, the Secretary would give recommendations for wider use of AI tools and best practices for design, risk management, and auditing.
New federal heat AI program
If enacted, the Department of Health and Human Services would create a Heat Illness AI Surveillance and Response Program run by the NIH and CDC Directors. The Secretary would consult death investigators, state and local health departments, utility companies, and other stakeholders. The program would require compliance with HIPAA and other privacy laws and would create an AI advisory board to promote transparency, fairness, and equitable AI performance across groups.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
NY • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Stanton, Greg [D-AZ-4]
AZ • D
Sponsored 6/11/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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