CHIERS Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Connections to Health Infrastructure and Emergency Recovery Services Act of 2026” or the “CHIERS Act of 2026”.

(a) In general.— Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly award grants to eligible entities for the purposes of improving access to, developing, or expanding services that provide a covered individual with transportation, including first and last mile transportation, to or from substance use disorder treatment or supportive services at no cost to such individual.

(b) Use of funds.—

(1) In general.— A grant awarded under this section may be used for the following purposes:

(A) To provide the transportation services described in subsection (a) on a prescheduled or on-demand basis.

(B) To acquire a motor vehicle for the transportation services described in subsection (a).

(C) To assist personnel who provide the transportation services described in subsection (a) in obtaining any license that may be required to provide such services.

(D) To provide training and professional development for personnel who provide the transportation services described in subsection (a).

(E) To raise awareness about the transportation services described in subsection (a), including through expanding street outreach activities.

(F) For ridesharing or taxi services that provide the transportation services described in subsection (a) on an on-demand basis.

(G) For such other activities as the Secretaries determine appropriate.

(2) Exclusions.— A grant awarded under this section may not be used—

(A) for transporting an individual to receive involuntary inpatient treatment; or

(B) by law enforcement personnel.

(c) Application.— An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretaries an application including—

(1) a description of the activities the eligible entity plans to carry out using grant funds under this section;

(2) the identity of each entity that the eligible entity plans to partner with to conduct such activities, including the activities the identified entity plans to carry out using grant funds under this section; and

(3) performance measures the eligible entity intends to use to measure the effectiveness of the activities carried out using grant funds under this section in reducing cancelled or missed appointments.

(d) Duration.— A grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not less than 1 year.

(e) Supplement not supplant.— A recipient of a grant under this section shall use the grant to supplement, not supplant, the level of State or local funds that would be made available for the activities funded under this section in the absence of the receipt of a grant under this section.

(f) Report.— Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant under this section, a grantee shall submit to the Secretaries a report including such information as the Secretaries determine necessary to evaluate the performance of the grantee under the grant.

(g) Technical assistance.— The Secretaries—

(1) shall jointly provide technical assistance, publish best practices, and conduct outreach to grantees and eligible entities under this section; and

(2) to the extent amounts are made available in advance in appropriation Acts, may make available not more than 2 percent of the funds made available pursuant to this section for the purposes of paragraph (1).

(h) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Covered individual.— The term covered individual means an individual with a substance use disorder who—

(A) is experiencing homelessness;

(B) resides in a low-income community, as such term is defined in section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or

(C) resides in a community in which transportation poses a barrier to health care access, as determined by the Secretaries.

(2) Eligible entity.— The term eligible entity means—

(A) a nonprofit organization that has experience in providing—

(i) substance use disorder treatment;

(ii) services to individuals experiencing homelessness; or

(iii) services to a population that experiences disparities in health status and health care access;

(B) a State or county governmental entity, or any other local or regional governmental entity, including a public health agency;

(C) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304);

(D) a continuum of care established and operating for a geographic area for purposes of the Continuum of Care Program under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.);

(E) a Federally qualified health center, as such term is defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa));

(F) a comprehensive opioid recovery center funded by a grant under section 552 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee–7);

(G) an entity conducting street outreach funded by a grant under the emergency solutions grants program authorized under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.);

(H) a consortium of 2 or more entities described in this paragraph; and

(I) such other entities as the Secretaries determine appropriate.

(3) First and last mile transportation.— The term first and last mile transportation means, for purposes of the travel of a covered individual to and from substance use disorder treatment or supportive services, the provision of such transportation services as may be necessary to ensure that the individual has transportation for the entire route to be traveled, including transportation to and from a source of public transit.

(4) Law enforcement personnel.— The term law enforcement personnel has the meaning given such term in section 884(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 464(g)).

(5) Nonprofit organization.— The term nonprofit organization means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

(6) Secretaries.— The term Secretaries means—

(A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use; and

(B) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting through the Director of the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs.

(7) State.— The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

(8) Substance use disorder.— The term substance use disorder has the meaning given such term in section 1934 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–34).

(9) Substance use disorder treatment.— The term substance use disorder treatment—

(A) has the meaning given such term in section 702 of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1701); and

(B) includes—

(i) an overdose prevention program; and

(ii) detoxification services.

(10) Supportive services.— The term supportive services has the meaning given such term in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360).