S. 5292: Granting Resources for Eliminating Emissions Now in Hospitals Act

This bill would create a new federal grant program to help hospitals and other medical facilities make their buildings and surrounding infrastructure more resilient, especially against climate-related events and public health emergencies. It would also expand an existing health care infrastructure grant program so that projects can include resilience and emissions-reduction upgrades.

What the bill would fund

The bill would allow federal money to be used for planning, construction, and modernization projects at medical facilities such as hospitals, public health centers, outpatient facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care facilities.

Examples of eligible projects include:

• backup power systems using energy storage and renewable energy
• more efficient heating, cooling, air filtration, and air-quality monitoring systems
• green infrastructure such as wetlands, drainage ponds, green roofs, walls, and plantings
• tree planting and other cooling measures to reduce urban heat
• upgrades to roads, sidewalks, and transit routes that help people reach medical facilities during floods, wildfires, and other disasters
• maintenance of existing zero-emissions or decarbonization infrastructure

New planning grant program

The bill would create a new Planning and Evaluation Grant Program run by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. These grants would help eligible organizations develop sustainability and resiliency plans before beginning construction or modernization work.

Eligible applicants would include states, Tribal governments, local governments and related public entities, and nonprofit private entities.

Planning grants could cover activities like:

• community outreach and engagement
• feasibility studies and needs assessments
• engineering and climate-risk assessments
• management and operational assistance to help secure future project funding

The maximum amount of any one planning grant would be $500,000.

How grants would be prioritized

When deciding who gets grants, the Secretary would have to develop evaluation metrics and give priority to projects that help facilities serving communities with greater need, including those that:

• rely heavily on Medicare and Medicaid patients, or have many uninsured patients
• are located in areas with poor air quality, little green space, higher pollution burdens, or greater climate risk
• serve environmental justice communities or medically underserved communities

The bill also says at least 50% of the grant money would have to go to projects in environmental justice communities.

Labor and staffing requirements

To receive grants or technical assistance, applicants would have to provide certain assurances related to labor standards. The bill would require:

• prevailing wages for laborers and mechanics on covered construction work, similar to Davis-Bacon Act requirements
• reasonable assurance that the facility has adequate staffing to meet its community service obligations
• reasonable assurance that the facility either has a collective bargaining agreement with labor organizations or has a policy not to interfere with employees’ rights under federal labor law

It would also prohibit the use of certain repayment clauses in employment, training, or apprenticeship agreements that would make workers repay debt if they leave the job or training early.

Technical assistance

The bill would direct HHS, working with other agencies if needed, to provide technical assistance to eligible entities, especially for projects that:

• serve environmental justice or medically underserved communities
• include job training, apprenticeship, and local contracting opportunities
• involve strong community engagement
• use nature-based solutions to improve public health and resilience

Funding

The bill would authorize up to $100 billion for the existing Green Hill-Burton-related hospital infrastructure grant changes for fiscal year 2027, and up to $5 billion for the new planning and evaluation grant program for fiscal year 2027. The money would remain available until spent.

Relevant Companies

None found.