Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Sheehy (D-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the bipartisan Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to increase veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is prepared to better care for veterans with emerging mental health therapies.
Introduce and support legislation to increase veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs is prepared to better care for veterans with emerging mental health therapies.
Occurrences
Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the GAMES Act to remove the one-year, post-discharge limitation on veterans’ participation in Department of War (DoW) adaptive sports programs to enable more people to participate.
Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Sheehy (D-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the bipartisan Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to increase veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is prepared to better care for veterans with emerging mental health therapies.
Military.com previously reported that the “Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act of 2025” sponsored by Gallego would designate not fewer than five VA medical facilities that can offer these different therapeutic modalities that include further psychedelic research and implementation.
This federal action complements congressional efforts to prepare VA for novel therapeutics.
Evidence
Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Sheehy (D-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the bipartisan Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to increase veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is prepared to better care for veterans with emerging mental health therapies.
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) backs the Telehealth Response for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services (TREATS) Act, a bipartisan bill that strengthens access to addiction treatment services through telehealth. The legislation would make permanent the telehealth flexibilities that allowed patients to receive life-saving addiction treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) backed the Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025. This legislation would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care to include—among other things—in vitro fertilization (IVF) and adoption assistance, for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance, and the option for individuals to freeze their eggs or sperm ahead of deployment to a combat zone.
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine combat veteran, helped secure key priorities for service members and veterans in Arizona and nationwide in this year’s Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill, one of three bills included in the first funding package advanced by the Senate for fiscal year 2026 (FY26). The legislation includes Gallego-led provisions to expand access to health care and suicide prevention resources, invest in mental health and addiction treatment, protect survivor benefits, support veteran housing, and support Arizona military construction projects like the Luke AFB Child Development Center.
Senator Ruben Gallego, along with bipartisan colleagues, introduced the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to establish an Office of Novel Therapeutics within the VA, aiming to enhance veterans' access to emerging mental health therapies.
Official Senate bill text (S.4220) titled 'Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act' was submitted March 26, 2026, read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The bill text amends title 38 to establish within the Veterans Health Administration an Office of Novel Therapeutics and directs reporting and readiness activities to prepare VA to evaluate and implement emerging mental health therapies. The filing notes Senators Sheehy, Gallego, Duckworth, and Boozman in the introductory filing context.
The White House issued an Executive Order on April 18, 2026 directing HHS and the FDA to collaborate with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase clinical trial participation, data sharing, and real-world evidence generation regarding psychedelic drugs and to prioritize drugs with Breakthrough Therapy designation — explicitly referencing veteran care as a priority for accelerated paths. This federal action complements congressional efforts to prepare VA for novel therapeutics.
Action: Mr. Sheehy (for himself, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Cosponsors: Ruben Gallego (AZ). Short title: Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act. Full title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish within the Veterans Health Administration an Office of Novel Therapeutics, and for other purposes.
Senators Ruben Gallego, Tim Sheehy, Tammy Duckworth, and John Boozman introduced the bipartisan Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to increase veterans’ access to innovative health care and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs is prepared to better care for veterans with emerging mental health therapies.
Senators Ruben Gallego and David McCormick introduced the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation that would increase federally funded research on innovative therapies to treat veterans experiencing PTSD, substance use disorder, and depression. Gallego said, 'I’m proud to lead this bill to help the VA study promising alternative therapies that can save lives.'
Assessments
The promise was specifically to introduce and support legislation, not necessarily to enact it. During Gallego's current Senate term, he co-introduced or cosponsored S.4220, the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act, which directly aims to increase veterans' access to innovative health care and prepare VA for emerging mental health therapies. Related Gallego-backed legislation on innovative therapies further supports fulfillment. Because the promised legislative action occurred in the same federal term, this counts as delivered.
Senator Ruben Gallego both introduced and supported significant legislation directly addressing increased access to innovative health care and enhanced VA readiness for emerging mental health therapies, notably as a lead cosponsor of S.4220—the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act—which was formally filed and referred in 2026. Multiple supporting actions, including legislative support for related bills and securing relevant appropriations, further demonstrate substantive and timely effort matching the campaign promise. Executive branch initiatives in the same term aligned with and complemented these legislative moves.
Sen. Gallego co‑introduced and is a named sponsor on S.4220 (Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act, filed Mar 26, 2026) to establish an Office of Novel Therapeutics within the VA and direct VA readiness for emerging mental‑health therapies. He also publicly backed related measures (TREATS Act, Veteran Families Health Services Act) and secured veterans‑health provisions in the FY26 MilCon‑VA funding package. These actions constitute introduction and active support of legislation aimed at increasing veterans’ access to innovative care and preparing the VA, matching the claim. (The bill was referred to committee and has not yet become law, but the promise focused on introducing/supporting legislation and VA preparedness; those steps were taken.)
Sen. Ruben Gallego introduced and co-sponsored legislation directly related to the promise (the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act to create a VA Office of Novel Therapeutics) and publicly backed additional bills expanding access to innovative care (TREATS Act for telehealth addiction treatment, Veteran Families Health Services Act for fertility services) and secured related provisions in the FY26 MilCon-VA appropriations. While some measures may not yet be enacted, the pledge was to introduce and support legislation and he has done so across multiple relevant bills and funding vehicles during the term.
Senator Ruben Gallego has actively introduced and supported several pieces of legislation and secured provisions in appropriations bills to increase veterans' access to innovative health care, focusing on mental health therapies and expanded services. Notably, he co-introduced the Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act, backed telehealth flexibilities for addiction treatment, and supported bills to expand fertility services for veterans. However, while these actions demonstrate significant effort and clear attempts to fulfill the promise, the evidence does not indicate that comprehensive, systemic change or the establishment of the proposed Office of Novel Therapeutics has been fully enacted into law. Therefore, the promise is judged as partially fulfilled with substantial effort.
Senator Ruben Gallego introduced and supported multiple pieces of legislation aimed at increasing veterans’ access to innovative health care, including bills focusing on novel mental health therapies, telehealth addiction services, expanded fertility treatments, and suicide prevention resources. However, the evidence does not indicate that all proposed measures became law or achieved the full promised outcome; rather, these actions represent significant ongoing efforts and partial policy fulfillment.