Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Celebrate VA Plans To Fund Psychedelics Study For Veterans

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are celebrating news that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be funding a study to explore the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

After VA announced on Tuesday that it would be providing $1.5 million in funding for the research initiative, Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA) put out statements cheering the effort and claiming some credit for the development after advocating for expanded federal studies into psychedelics therapy.

This will mark the first agency-funded psychedelics study since the 1960s, with the grant being awarded to VA researchers affiliated with Brown University and Yale University. The clinical trial will take place at Providence VA Medical Center and West Haven VA Medical Center. Enrollment is expected to begin next year.

“This is a huge step in the right direction,” Bergman, who along with Correa cofounded the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, said. “I applaud the VA for moving the ball forward in this fight to help those who so desperately need these breakthrough therapies.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if psychedelic-assisted therapy can help treat a Servicemember or Veteran’s PTSD or prevent them from taking their own life, then we owe it to them to take an active role in researching these potentially life-saving therapies,” he said. “I’m grateful for Secretary [Denis] McDonough’s commitment to this cause and to our Nation’s heroes.”

Correa said VA’s announcement is “nothing short of monumental,” adding that he and Bergman have spent years “pushing the Department to research the impact of breakthrough therapies, like psychedelics, on the invisible wounds of our country’s most valiant warriors. And just last year, the House passed our amendment to do so. That’s real progress.”

“These therapies. like MDMA, promise to be one of the largest breakthroughs in mental health treatment in nearly half a century, and show potential to cure our veterans of their invisible wounds. I’m so proud to be in this fight alongside General Bergman,” Correa said. “We won’t rest until these potentially life-saving therapies are accessible to all who would benefit from them.”

In their statement, Bergman and Correa also referenced a letter they signed, along with dozens of other bipartisan members, expressing urgency to the federal government as it looked into the possibility of authorizing MDMA-assisted therapy, particularly as it concerns veterans with severe mental health conditions.

McDonough, the VA secretary, acknowledged that letter in a response to the lawmakers on Tuesday, writing that the department “has been actively conducting research of certain psychedelic compounds— including MDMA and psilocybin—using external funds for years.”

“Through this research and future studies, we are gathering rigorous scientific evidence on the potential efficacy and safety of psychedelic compounds when used in conjunction with therapeutic approaches,” he said. “All studies have been and will continue to be conducted under stringent safety protocols. VA is committed to exploring all avenues that promote the health of the Nation’s Veterans.”

“Our mission is to serve those who served our country and to provide them with world-class health care and benefits. In addition to researching psychedelics, we offer Veterans a comprehensive suite of heath care and treatments for substance use, PTSD, and other mental health conditions,” he added.

VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal previewed the research initiative in October during a panel that also featured Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), who have separately advocated for psychedelics reform.

“VA is on the cutting edge of clinical research for Veteran health, including in the investigation of psychedelics for mental health,” Elnahal said in a press release on Tuesday. “This study will give us better insight into the potential of MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for Veterans.”

Earlier this year, Rachel Yehuda, director of mental health at VA’s James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, touted an initial study the agency funded that produced “stunning and robust results” from its first-ever clinical trial into MDMA therapy.

This comes as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) faces criticism from advocates and researchers after denying an application to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD based on separate research.

Just one day before FDA declined to approve a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy, Yehuda said she’s been asked how that decision might affect the department’s own work. She said the answer is: “Double down on the research. Keep generating the data and the cases. The nature of challenge is, well, that it is challenging. But I am optimistic.”

Bipartisan lawmakers—including Bergman and Correa—separately staged an event at the U.S. Capitol calling for the MDMA approval by FDA, and they lso launched an art installation memorializing military veterans who died by suicide.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved amendments to a large-scale spending bill that would authorize VA doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations to military veterans and support psychedelics research and access.

In August, the Senate Appropriations Committee also passed report language for appropriations legislation conveying concerns about restrictions on marijuana and psychedelics research imposed by current prohibition.

Separately, advocates in support of expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for America’s military veterans released an informational guidebook in October that backers say “responds to the demand for alternative treatment solutions and equips veterans with practical, clinically-backed strategies to safely explore these therapies.”

It’s unclear how VA’s own work on psychedelics research will be impacted under the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump recently announced his intent to nominate former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to head up VA—a choice that raises questions about how the agency might navigate marijuana issues given his prior record of voting against medical cannabis access for military veterans during his time in Congress.

Before last month’s election, Vice President-elect JD Vance said he was “fascinated” by the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, asking podcaster Joe Rogan for advice on a creating a possible “pathway” for providing access to substances such as MDMA and psilocybin for military veterans with serious mental health conditions.

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