New legislation introduced in Congress would require the Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary to designate the department’s medical facilities as “innovative therapies centers of excellence,” which would include increasing federal funding to study the therapeutic uses of psychedelics for veterans, according to a copy of the legislation shared with Military.com.
The “Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act of 2025” sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, would designate not fewer than five VA medical facilities that can offer these different therapeutic modalities. VA Secretary Doug Collins, upon the recommendation of VA Under Secretary for Health Ret. Maj. Gen. John Bartrum, is to assure appropriate geographic distribution of such facilities should the bill become law.
This legislation means a lot to Gallego, who served in the Marines from 2002-2006 and was deployed to Iraq where he served as a lance corporal as part of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. Between January 2005 and January 2006, 46 Lima Company Marines and one Navy corpsman were killed—including Gallego's best friend.
“When I came back from Iraq, I saw my fellow Marines, like so many other veterans, struggle to get the help they needed,” Gallego told Military.com on Monday. “Our veterans sacrificed so much for this country."
We owe it to them to explore every treatment that can help them heal, including therapeutic uses of psychedelics that may finally break through when others haven’t. I’m proud to lead this bill to help the VA study promising alternative therapies that can save lives.
The legislation calls for $30 million to be appropriated each fiscal year “to support the research and education activities of the centers.”
“Innovative therapy” in the context of the bill means any of the following:
3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (commonly known as MDMA).
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (commonly known as DMT).
Ibogaine.
Psilocybin (known colloquially as "magic mushrooms").
Any other therapies as may be designated by the under secretary for health.
“Covered conditions” would include the following:
Anxiety.
Bipolar disorder.
Chronic pain.
Depression.
Parkinson’s disease.
Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Substance use disorder.
Any other conditions designated by the under secretary for health.
Meeting the 'Highest Standards' of Science
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) co-sponsored this legislation, telling Military.com that disproportionately high rates of PTSD, depression and substance use disorders due to combat exposure, trauma and challenges "follow veterans home."
Every day, 17 of them die by suicide. That must change.
"The Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act will ensure the VA keeps pace with the private sector by expanding access to cutting-edge treatments like MDMA-assisted therapy, promoting ongoing research on veteran health outcomes, and closing gaps in treatment services for our veterans who need it most. We owe them nothing less than our very best," the senator added.
The bill calls for centers at specified locations “that meet the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit.”
That translates to each facility having or developing an arrangement with the following:
An accredited medical school that provides education and training in innovative therapies and with which the facility is affiliated under which residents receive education and training in use of innovative therapies to treat covered conditions.
An accredited school of psychiatry.
An accredited school of social work.
Aside from also requiring the ability to attract the participation of scientists “who are capable of ingenuity and creativity” in medical research efforts, the legislation also calls for an advisory committee composed of veterans along with medical and research representatives of the facility and of the affiliated school or schools to advise directors and others on policy matters.
Coordination with such facilities and centers also relies upon an integrated national system capable of providing education, clinical and research activities. The VA is also instructed to develop a national medical repository for health data collection on innovative therapy services delivered to veterans.
Chain of Command
The peer review panel that would be established by the VA under secretary for health, assessing the scientific and clinical merit of proposals, would consist of innovative therapies experts.
Of those experts, one-half shall be appointed for a period of three years and one-half shall be appointed for two years—both at the under secretary’s discretion.
That panel would be tasked with reviewing each submitted proposal coming from the under secretary, ultimately submitting its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal.
The under secretary, no later than two years after enacting the peer review panel, would have to submit a report on the centers’ activities to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Such reports would include a summary of activities carried out by the centers during that time period; an identification of key findings made at such centers during that time; and recommendations to improve the delivery of innovative therapies to veterans.
Trials Anticipated For 'Years to Come'
This bill comes on the heels of the VA confirming to Military.com in November 2025 that it was expanding psychedelic-assisted therapy trials for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment resistant depression, and anxiety disorders.
Nine VA facilities in the following locations were announced at the time to be participating in multi-year studies, each evaluating the safety and clinical impacts of psychedelic compounds: the Bronx, Los Angeles, Omaha, Palo Alto, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, San Francisco, West Haven and White River Junction.
VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz told Military.com in November that the work was proceeding under “strict safety and regulatory procedure,” with all studies involving substances listed under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
“VA’s work on psychedelics is at an early stage and results from these trials will be available in the years to come,” Kasperowicz said. “This research is just one part of VA’s comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention efforts.”
Military.com reached out to the VA for comment on Gallego's new legislation.
The current VA under the Trump administration follows in the footsteps of efforts made during the Biden administration.
In January 2024, the VA issued a request for applications for proposals from its network of VA researchers—in collaboration with academic institutions—to study the use of certain psychedelic compounds in treating PTSD and depression.
By December 2024, the VA announced it was funding a study on Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted, or MDMA-assisted, therapy for PTSD and alcohol use disorder among veterans with input from Brown University and Yale University researchers who evaluated such treatments options and their ability to help veterans.
That was the first VA-funded study for psychedelic-assisted therapy since the 1960s.
