,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fhci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ah1 #bjbe,ms4 ,barragn 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,carson1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,goldman of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 and ,mr4 ,veasey7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services to award grants for removing transportation barriers to accessing eligible vaccines for individuals from low-income communities1 minority communities1 or other communities in which transportation poses a barrier to health care access1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,vaccine ,transportation ,access ,act4 #b4 ,grant program for vaccine access and mobility 7a7 ,general authority 7#a7 ,awards ,the ,secretary shall award grants to qualified community organizations to assist in financing projects to remove transportation barriers to accessing eligible vaccines for individuals from low-income communities1 minority communities1 or other communities in which transportation poses a barrier to health care access4 7#b7 ,transfer of duties ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 enter into agreements with ,state health agencies for purposes of carrying out the duties assigned to the ,secretary under this section2 and 7,b7 transfer to such agencies for such purposes funds appropriated to carry out this section4 7b7 ,application ,a qualified community organization seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the ,secretary an application that contains-- 7#a7 a description of the project to be funded through the grant2 7#b7 an identification of all project partners and their specific role in the proposed project1 including private for-profit and nonprofit entities engaged in the coordination of transportation services for the project2 and 7#c7 specific performance measures the qualified community organization will use to reduce cancellations or missed appointments4 7c7 ,period of performance ,each grant awarded under subsection 7a7 shall be for a period of performance of not less than #f months4 7d7 ,use of funds ,each grant awarded under subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 shall be used to develop1 expand1 and enhance access to transportation to and from sites for receipt of an eligible vaccine by individuals from low-income communities1 minority communities1 or other communities in which transportation poses a barrier to health care access2 and 7#b7 may be used to-- 7,a7 provide prescheduled or on-demand transportation to and from a site for administration of an eligible vaccine2 or 7,b7 provide first and last mile transportation services for appointments for administration of such a vaccine4 7e7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,grant recipients ,as a condition on receipt of a grant under this section1 a grantee shall agree to submit to the ,secretary1 not later than #f months after the completion of the period of performance of the grant1 a report containing such information as the ,secretary determines necessary to evaluate performance under the grant4 7#b7 ,annual report to ,congress ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter during the term of the grant program under this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate a report containing a summary of the information received by the ,secretary during the preceding year under paragraph 7#a74 7f7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,eligible vaccine ,the term eligible vaccine means any immunization that-- 7,a7 had in effect a recommendation from the ,advisory ,committee on ,immunization ,practices of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention with respect to the individual involved as of ,october #be1 #bjbd1 including such an immunization as updated or changed after that date under a supplement to a biologics license application approved by the ,food and ,drug ,administration2 or 7,b7 is recommended under evidenced-based1 clinical care guidelines published by one or more ,united ,states professional medical societies4 7#b7 ,first and last mile ,the term first and last mile means1 with respect to transportation services and an individual's trip to and from a vaccine appointment-- 7,a7 transportation-- 7i7 between the individual's point of trip origin and a source of public transit2 and 7ii7 between a source of public transit and the individual's destination2 or 7,b7 where no source of public transit is available1 transportation between the individual's point of trip origin and the individual's destination4 7#c7 ,qualified community organization ,the term qualified community organization means an organization that-- 7,a7 is a nonprofit organization2 and 7,b7 has experience in-- 7i7 managing ,federal grants2 and 7ii7 providing services to low-income or minority communities or communities that disproportionately experience disparities in health status and health care access4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section4 #c4 ,federal medical assistance percentage ,section #aije7;b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif;d7b77 is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,notwithstanding the first sentence of this subsection1 the ,federal medical assistance percentage shall be #ajj per centum with respect to amounts expended for nonemergency transportation benefits provided to individuals eligible for medical assistance under this subchapter that are attributable to transportation costs incurred on or after the date of the enactment of this sentence related to providing eligible vaccines 7as defined in section #b7;f7 of the ,vaccine ,transportation ,access ,act7 to such individuals under the ,state plan44