Federal funding expands free 211 information service for housing, food, mental health.

What it does

This bill creates a federal grant program to strengthen and expand 211 services—a nationwide phone and online information system that connects people to health and human services like housing, food assistance, mental health care, and disaster relief. The Department of Health and Human Services will fund state 211 networks and individual 211 providers to increase capacity, improve coordination with 911 and 988 (mental health crisis line), and ensure all Americans can access these services for free via phone, text, or internet.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program to build and coordinate existing 211 information-and-referral services. It is a public-health infrastructure investment with no hidden commercial or private-sector carve-outs.

What the text implies

• The bill requires 211 providers to maintain comprehensive, up-to-date databases of health and human services—a significant operational burden that may strain smaller nonprofits without adequate technical capacity, potentially consolidating power in larger state networks.
• Coordination mandates between 211, 911, and 988 systems may create data-sharing and interoperability challenges across jurisdictions with different technical infrastructure, potentially delaying implementation.
• The 25% matching-fund requirement may disadvantage rural and low-income areas where local funding sources are scarce, potentially widening service gaps despite the bill's equity goals.
• The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for administering agencies or 211 providers that fail to meet accessibility standards (ADA, Section 508 compliance), relying on reporting and evaluation rather than direct accountability.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands free access to information about critical social services (housing, food, mental health, disaster aid) for all Americans, particularly benefiting low-income and rural populations who often lack awareness of available resources. The 25% matching-fund requirement and accountability measures (independent evaluations, disability access compliance, public reporting) create reasonable guardrails against waste.

Who stands to gain

• nonprofit 211 service providers
• state 211 networks
• nonprofit organizations providing health and human services
• technology and telecommunications vendors (software, hosting, cloud services)

Named in the bill

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 211 services, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 911 emergency services, Inform USA Standards and Quality Indicators, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations

Where it stands

7 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Apr 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 27, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $120,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Morgan McGarvey, the sponsor, reported $628,638 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• United Way Worldwide (uww) — $120,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.