June 5, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Bipartisan Congressional leaders delivered a resounding victory to advocates for veteran access to MDMA-Assisted Therapy (MDMA-AT) in the adoption of two amendments in yesterday’s passage of the FY25 MilCon/VA Appropriations bill. The amendments, sponsored by Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Lou Correa (D-CA), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), David Valadao (R-CA), Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), John Moolenaar (R-MI), and James Moylan (R-GU), “express support for recently-announced VA-funded research into psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat PTSD and depression,” “encourage VA to prioritize the proactive training of therapists to administer these treatments," and require the VA to report to Congress within 180 days of MDMA-AT's FDA approval, "on [the] possible incorporation of treatments into the formulary of the Department and the justification for such determination."

“Psychedelic-assisted therapies have the potential to be the first genuine advancement in the treatment of veterans’ mental health in decades,” Congressman Bergman said, as he made his case for these amendments on the House floor. “It is essential that the VA continues their efforts to research these compounds and do everything they can to ensure that they have trained therapists and those trained therapists are ready to meet the need and provide these new breakthrough treatments once they receive FDA approval.” His comments can be viewed in their entirety here.

“We’ve seen our nation’s veterans continue to needlessly suffer suicides, mental health, opioid overdoses, and it’s crucial that the VA do everything in its power to ensure that they have safe and scientifically sound and potentially life-saving therapies as soon as they are available and approved in the United States,” added Congressman Correa, whose comments can be viewed in their entirety here.

Juliana Mercer, Healing Breakthrough’s Director of Veteran Advocacy and Public Policy, responded to these Congressional victories with the following sentiments: “It is remarkable that in the very first week of National PTSD Awareness Month, our bipartisan Congressional champions led the charge to ensure that everything possible is done to heal our long-suffering veterans. We could not be more grateful for their leadership, and their willingness to transcend politics with scientifically-based policies. These provisions are a continuation of the unanimous bipartisan support expressed by Congress in the FY2024 MilCon/VA funding bill, that will enable the VA to leverage the full power of MDMA-AT to help bring the veteran suicide epidemic to an end.”

For more information about Healing Breakthrough, please visit: https://www.healingbreakthrough.org/.