Grants for community resilience and cooling centers to purchase or repair HVAC systems and passive cooling systems

(a) Authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall carry out a program under this section to make grants to eligible entities for the costs of acquiring, for a community resilience center or a cooling center— (1) new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, including backup power, generators, and microgrids; and (2) passive cooling solutions. (b) Application The Secretary shall provide for eligible entities to apply for grants under the program under this section and shall require applications to include a statement identifying the number of people to be served through the grant. (c) Selection (1) In general The Secretary shall select eligible entities to receive grants under the program under this section based on a competition, in accordance with such criteria as the Secretary shall establish. (2) Preference The criteria under paragraph (1) shall provide preference for selection of eligible entities proposing to use the grant for costs described in subsection (a) for a community resilience center or cooling center. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) The term eligible entity means a State, an Indian Tribe, a unit of general local government, or a nonprofit organization. (2) The term passive cooling solutions includes— (A) cool or green roofs; (B) cool walls; (C) tree planting and maintenance; and (D) cool pavements. (3) The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (e) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035.