H.R. 10933: EMS Supporting Personnel, Operations, Upgrades, Resources, and Training Act of 2026

This bill would create a federal grant program, run through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration, to support emergency medical services (EMS) organizations and related municipal departments.

What the grants could be used for

Eligible applicants could use the money for a range of EMS-related needs, including:

• Hiring or retaining more EMS personnel, with the goal of meeting minimum staffing standards and achieving 24-hour coverage.
• Providing mental health services to EMS personnel.
• Paying for required certifications for EMS personnel.
• Buying EMS equipment and supplies such as protective gear, medication, and uniforms.
• Upgrading communications equipment, facilities, mapping equipment, and vehicles.
• Other activities that the Administrator determines are appropriate.

Who could apply

Eligible entities include career fire departments, combination fire departments, volunteer fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, and the municipalities where they operate. The bill excludes entities that have already received certain rural EMS training and equipment grants under another section of law.

How the program would work

Applicants would have to submit information showing that they need the grant to carry out the activity, how they plan to keep EMS personnel after the grant ends, and, if they are using the money to hire personnel, how they will meet the bill’s staffing rules.

Grants would be awarded competitively through peer review, and each grant would last 3 years. The bill says the agency may give preference to applications that include a non-federal contribution for staffing purposes.

Limits and conditions on the money

The bill includes several restrictions on how grant funds could be used:

• Grant money must supplement, not replace, state, local, or certain Bureau of Indian Affairs funding.
• Applicants must generally keep their own spending on the activity at least at the prior year’s level.
• A municipality with an EMS budget reduced below 80% of its average funding over the previous 3 years would not be eligible for a grant, unless an economic hardship waiver applies.
• For hiring EMS personnel, no more than 75% of grant funds could be used in each of the first two years, and no more than 35% in the third year.
• Recipients could not bar funded personnel from volunteering for EMS work during off-duty hours, and could not discriminate against them for doing so.

Volunteer departments and hardship waivers

The bill would reserve 10% of the available funds each year for majority-volunteer or all-volunteer EMS departments and organizations.

It would also allow the Administrator to waive or reduce certain funding restrictions if there is economic hardship, using guidelines that take into account factors like unemployment rates and the share of households eligible for SNAP benefits.

Oversight and reporting

The Administrator would be allowed to provide technical assistance, would have to establish performance metrics to measure whether the grants are working, and could require recipients to submit information needed for that review. The Administrator and the Comptroller General would have audit access to relevant records. A report on the grants’ effectiveness would be due to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by September 30, 2030.

Funding

The bill authorizes $750 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Administrative costs would be capped at 5% of the authorized amount each year. The program would end on September 30, 2031.

Relevant Companies

None found