The bill amends 49 U.S.C. §5307 to change a clause governing urbanized-area formula grants so that operating assistance can be awarded either to systems in urbanized areas with fewer than 200,000 residents or to any public transportation that provides service to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility. It also creates a certification requirement and an enforcement mechanism: recipients receiving funds under the new VA-service eligibility must certify within 30 days of first receipt and annually that the funds support service to a VA medical facility, and the Secretary may suspend assistance if the recipient fails to deliver as certified.
This is a narrowly targeted statutory change with immediate operational and compliance implications for transit agencies, VA facilities, and the Department of Transportation. For transit operators it opens a new route to federal operating support where they connect veterans to care, but it also imposes a short annual paperwork and an enforcement lever that could interrupt funding if documentation or service expectations are not met.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill revises subsection (a)(1)(D) of 49 U.S.C. §5307 to allow operating-assistance eligibility either for public transportation in urbanized areas under 200,000 population or for any public transportation that services a VA medical facility. It adds a new certification requirement and a suspension penalty for recipients who do not provide the certified service.
Who It Affects
Small- and mid-size urban transit agencies and any transit provider (including shuttle operators and contracted services) that currently—or plans to—serve a VA medical facility. The Secretary of Transportation (through FTA procedures) becomes responsible for receiving certifications and enforcing suspensions.
Why It Matters
The change creates a dedicated pathway for transit providers to claim operating funds tied to veteran access, potentially shifting formula resources and administrative oversight. Compliance officers and grant managers must build documentation and monitoring processes to avoid suspended funding.
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What This Bill Actually Does
At its core, the bill creates a second way for transit systems to qualify for the operating-assistance bucket in 49 U.S.C. §5307: they can qualify if they operate in an urbanized area with fewer than 200,000 people, or if they provide service to a VA medical facility. That means a transit operator outside the small-urban threshold can still be eligible for this particular operating assistance so long as it serves a VA medical facility, regardless of the size of its urbanized area.
The bill then imposes an express certification regime. Any recipient who obtains funds under the VA-service eligibility must submit a written certification to the Secretary within 30 days of first receiving those grant funds and once a year thereafter.
The certification must state that the operating funds will be used to provide public transportation that serves a VA medical facility. The Secretary is given explicit authority to suspend assistance for operating costs if a recipient is later found not to have provided the certified service during a fiscal year.Practically, transit agencies will need to translate this statutory requirement into internal controls: route schedules, stop locations, ridership or boarding records at VA stops, contractual terms for third-party shuttles, and accounting codes that link operating expenses to VA-related service.
The Secretary’s suspension authority creates an enforcement backstop but also a compliance risk: a failure in documentation or an unforeseen route change could trigger suspension of operating funds for that recipient.Finally, the bill contains purely technical changes — it redesignates an existing subsection and inserts the new certification subsection — but those edits will need to be reflected in grant guidance, application forms, and FTA program rules so that grant officers and recipients understand how to claim funds under the new VA-service path.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill amends 49 U.S.C. §5307(a)(1)(D) to allow eligibility either for systems in urbanized areas under 200,000 population or for any public transportation that services a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility.
Recipients who receive funds under the VA-service eligibility must submit a certification to the Secretary within 30 days of first receiving the funds and annually thereafter.
The certification must state that the operating funds will be used to provide public transportation that serves a VA medical facility.
If the Secretary finds a recipient did not provide the certified service during a fiscal year, the Secretary must suspend assistance provided under §5307 for those operating costs.
The bill also redesignates the current subsection (h) as (i) to make room for the new certification and penalty subsection (h).
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short title
Establishes the act’s name as the "Connecting Veterans to Care Act of 2025." This is a formal label only and carries no substantive effect on program structure or funding formulas.
New dual eligibility for operating assistance
Replaces the existing text in subsection (a)(1)(D) with two alternative criteria: (i) public transportation operating in an urbanized area with population fewer than 200,000, or (ii) public transportation that services a VA medical facility. Operationally this creates an eligibility pathway tied to service to VA facilities separate from the population-based cutoff. Transit managers should read this as an expansion for systems that connect veterans to care, but note it is limited to operating assistance described in this particular subsection.
Technical redesignation of subsections
Redesignates the existing subsection (h) as subsection (i) to accommodate the new certification provision. While technical, this requires updates to statutory references in guidance, grants management documents, and any regulation or program manual that cites the prior subsection lettering.
Certification requirement and suspension penalty
Adds a mandatory certification process: recipients using the VA-service eligibility must certify within 30 days of first receiving funds and annually that the funds will be used to provide transportation serving a VA medical facility. The Secretary is directed to suspend assistance under §5307 for operating costs if a recipient fails to provide the certified service during a fiscal year. This provision creates a compliance pathway and a singular enforcement mechanism — suspension — but does not specify appeal procedures or partial-withdrawal options.
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Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Veterans who rely on VA medical facilities — increased likelihood that local transit providers can secure operating support for routes that carry veterans to care facilities, potentially improving appointment access.
- Transit providers that operate routes to VA medical facilities — new eligibility route for §5307 operating assistance even if they are not in a sub-200,000 urbanized area, allowing them to make a budget case tied to veteran access.
- VA medical facilities and administrators — the facilities may see improved patient access and reduced missed appointments if nearby transit gains operating funding tied to their service.
- Smaller urban transit systems — systems already under the 200,000 population threshold retain eligibility (explicitly preserved) and can continue to claim operating assistance under the statute’s population-based prong.
Who Bears the Cost
- Transit agencies and grant recipients — must create and maintain documentation linking operating funds to VA-serving routes, meet a 30-day initial certification deadline and an annual certification cycle, and risk suspension if documentation or service lapses.
- The Department of Transportation / FTA — will absorb administrative burden to receive certifications, verify compliance, and implement suspensions; the agency may need guidance updates and monitoring capacity.
- Transit providers in large urbanized areas that do not serve a VA medical facility — they do not gain a new eligibility pathway and could see relative shifts in formula allocations if funds are re-allocated toward VA-serving providers.
- Contracted shuttle operators and third-party providers — if they serve VA facilities and seek grant dollars through a recipient, they will face contractual and reporting changes to ensure the recipient’s certification is accurate and defensible.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill pits two legitimate goals against each other: expand federal operating support to ensure veterans can physically reach VA medical care, versus preserving the integrity and predictability of the §5307 formula by avoiding new eligibility criteria that shift limited funds and create enforcement burdens. The statute increases access for veterans but does so by adding a compliance requirement and an inflexible penalty that can interrupt service — forcing a practical choice between strict accountability and stable, continuous transit service.
The bill leaves key implementation details undefined. It does not describe what constitutes "service" to a VA medical facility (a stop adjacent to the facility, van shuttles that run on-demand, frequency thresholds, or number of veterans served), nor does it specify how the Secretary should verify that a recipient actually delivered the certified service.
That gap invites varying administrative interpretations and the potential for disputes where a recipient believes a modest or indirect connection to a VA facility qualifies while the Secretary disagrees. The statutory suspension remedy is blunt: the Secretary "shall suspend assistance" if a finding of nonperformance is made, but the bill does not create a graduated penalty, remediation period, or an explicit appeals process tied to the suspension decision.
There is also a programmatic trade-off: directing operating grant eligibility toward providers that serve VA facilities could divert scarce formula dollars away from other transit priorities or jurisdictions. Because the amendment nests the VA-service eligibility inside a specific subsection of §5307, agencies will need to decide how to prioritize applications and whether to reinterpret internal accounting practices to align operating costs to the certified service.
Finally, the 30-day initial deadline and annual cycle are administratively tight for some recipients; missed filings could produce outsized consequences through suspension, even when service continuance would be operationally feasible.
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