Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Connecting Veterans to Care Act of 2025.
Section 2. Assistance for operating costs for public transportation that services department of veterans affairs medical facilities
Section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(D) by striking public transportation in an urbanized area and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following:
(1) public transportation—
(i) in an urbanized area with a population of fewer than 200,000 individuals, as determined by the Bureau of the Census; or
(ii) that services a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility.
(1) ;
(2) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
(1) Certification
The recipient of financial assistance described in subsection (a)(1)(D)(ii) shall, not later than the 30 days after the date on which the recipient first receives grant funds under this section, and each year thereafter, submit to the Secretary a certification that the operating costs will be used to provide public transportation that services a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility.
(2) Penalty
If the Secretary finds that a recipient failed to provide transportation as certified to under paragraph (1) during a fiscal year, the Secretary shall suspend assistance provided under this section for such operating costs.
(3) .