Legislation
Proposed S. 4031 Would Create VA Innovative-Therapies Centers and Authorize $30M Annually
2026-03-26 ยท 5 min read
Legislative status - checked September 1, 2026: S. 4031 was introduced in the Senate on March 9, 2026, read twice, and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It has not been enacted. Everything below describes what the bill would do only if it were enacted and funded.
What S. 4031 proposes
The proposal is titled the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act. It would add a new section 7330E to title 38 of the United States Code and direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting on the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, to designate not fewer than five VA medical facilities as locations for innovative therapies centers of excellence.
Designation would not by itself guarantee that a center opens. The bill says establishment and operation would be subject to the availability of appropriations. It also calls for an appropriate geographic distribution of designated facilities.
Proposed standards for the centers
Under the introduced text, a facility could not be designated unless a peer-review panel found its proposal to meet the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit. The Secretary would also consider whether the facility has, or could reasonably develop, specified capabilities and relationships.
Those proposed requirements include arrangements with accredited medical, psychiatry, and social-work schools; the ability to attract qualified scientists; an advisory committee that includes veterans and medical and research representatives; evaluation capacity; coordination of education, clinical, and research activities; a provider consortium; and a national VA data repository for health services delivered to veterans seeking innovative therapies.
These are proposed selection and operating requirements. They are not evidence that the centers currently exist or that any named therapy has produced a particular result in this program.
Conditions and therapies named in the bill
For this proposed section, S. 4031 defines covered conditions to include anxiety, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, depression, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, and any additional conditions designated by the Under Secretary for Health.
It defines innovative therapy to include MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT, ibogaine, ketamine, psilocybin, and any additional therapies designated by the Under Secretary. Their inclusion in the bill's definitions identifies the proposal's scope. It does not establish that Congress has enacted the bill, that the VA has approved each therapy for routine care, or that safety or effectiveness has been demonstrated for every listed condition.
What the $30 million authorization means
The bill would authorize $30 million for each fiscal year to support the centers' research and education activities. An authorization is not a guarantee that Congress will appropriate those funds. The bill separately makes establishment and operation of the centers subject to available appropriations.
The introduced text does not describe the $30 million as a construction budget, promise that a particular facility will receive funding, or state that the full amount has already been provided. It would also allow the Under Secretary for Health to allocate other amounts already appropriated generally for specified VA medical services and research accounts, as appropriate.
Future reporting requirements are not outcome data
If enacted, the bill would require the Under Secretary for Health to report to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees no later than two years after enactment and annually thereafter. The proposed reports would summarize center activities, identify key findings, make recommendations, and cover other relevant matters.
Those are future reporting duties. The introduced bill itself reports no demonstrated clinical outcomes from centers established under this proposal.
Bottom line
S. 4031 is an introduced legislative proposal, not an enacted VA program. It would establish a framework for at least five centers, but operation would depend on enactment and appropriations. Its $30 million annual authorization is for proposed research and education activities; it is neither guaranteed funding nor a stated construction allocation.
Primary-source status and text checked September 1, 2026 on Congress.gov.