,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #djca ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #i1 #bjbf,mr4 ,gallego 7for himself and ,mr4 ,mc,cormick7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to designate medical facilities of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs as innovative therapies centers of excellence1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,innovative ,therapies ,centers of ,excellence ,act4 #b4 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs designation of innovative therapies centers of excellence 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #gc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #gccj;,e4 ,innovative therapies centers of excellence 7a7 ,establishment of centers 7#a7 ,designation ,the ,secretary1 upon the recommendation of the ,under ,secretary for ,health1 shall designate not fewer than five medical facilities of the ,department as the locations for innovative therapies centers of excellence4 7#b7 ,establishment and operation ,subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose1 the ,secretary shall establish and operate innovative therapies centers of excellence at the locations designated pursuant to paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,geographic distribution of facilities ,in designating medical facilities as centers of excellence under subsection 7a77#a71 the ,secretary1 upon the recommendation of the ,under ,secretary for ,health1 shall ensure appropriate geographic distribution of such facilities4 7c7 ,requirements for designation 7#a7 ,highest competitive standards ,the ,secretary may not designate a medical facility as a location for a center under subsection 7a77#a7 unless the peer review panel established under subsection 7d7 has determined under that subsection that the proposal submitted by such facility as a location for a new center under subsection 7a77#a7 is among those proposals that meet the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit4 7#b7 ,other elements ,the ,secretary may not designate a medical facility as a location for a center under subsection 7a77#a7 unless the ,secretary1 upon the recommendation of the ,under ,secretary for ,health1 determines that the facility has1 or may reasonably be anticipated to develop1 each of the following3 7,a7 ,an arrangement with-- 7i7 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 conditions2 7ii7 an accredited school of psychiatry2 and 7iii7 an accredited school of social work4 7,b7 ,the ability to attract the participation of scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity in medical research efforts4 7,c7 ,an advisory committee composed of veterans and appropriate medical and research representatives of the facility and of the affiliated school or schools to advise the directors of the facility and such center on policy matters pertaining to the activities of the center during the period of the operation of such center4 7,d7 ,the capability to conduct effectively evaluations of the activities of such center4 7,e7 ,the capability to coordinate 7as part of an integrated national system7 education1 clinical1 and research activities within all facilities with such centers4 7,f7 ,the capability to jointly develop a consortium of providers with interest in treating covered conditions with innovative therapies at facilities of the ,department without such centers in order to ensure better access to state-of-the-art diagnosis1 care1 and education for innovative therapies throughout the medical system of the ,department4 7,g7 ,the capability to develop a national repository in the medical system of the ,department for the collection of data on health services delivered to veterans seeking innovative therapies4 7d7 ,peer review panel 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall establish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the ,secretary for the establishment of centers under this section4 7#b7 ,membership 7,a7 ,in general ,the membership of the panel established under paragraph 7#a7 shall consist of experts in innovative therapies4 7,b7 ,period of service 7i7 ,in general ,members of the panel established under paragraph 7#a7 shall serve for a period of not more than two years1 except as specified in clause 7ii74 7ii7 ,initial appointment ,of the members first appointed to the panel established under paragraph 7#a71 one-half shall be appointed for a period of three years and one-half shall be appointed for a period of two years1 as designated by the ,under ,secretary for ,health at the time of appointment4 7#c7 ,duties ,the panel established under paragraph 7#a7 shall review each proposal submitted to the panel by the ,under ,secretary for ,health and shall submit its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to the ,under ,secretary4 7#d7 ,application of laws regarding ,federal advisory committees ,the panel established under paragraph 7#a7 shall not be subject to chapter #aj of title #e4 7e7 ,annual report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this section1 and annually thereafter1 the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives a report on the activities of the centers established under subsection 7a7 during the period covered by the report4 7#b7 ,elements ,each report required under paragraph 7#a7 shall include-- 7,a7 a summary of activities carried out by the centers established under subsection 7a7 during such period2 7,b7 an identification of key findings made at such centers during such period2 7,c7 recommendations to improve the delivery of innovative therapies to veterans2 and 7,d7 such other matters as the ,under ,secretary determines relevant4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated #cj1jjj1jjj for each fiscal year to support the research and education activities of the centers established under subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,allocation of additional amounts ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health shall allocate to the centers established under subsection 7a7 from other amounts appropriated generally for the medical services account and medical and prosthetics research account of the ,department1 as appropriate1 such amounts as the ,under ,secretary determines appropriate4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term covered condition means any of the following3 7,a7 ,anxiety4 7,b7 ,bipolar disorder4 7,c7 ,chronic pain4 7,d7 ,depression4 7,e7 ,parkinson's disease4 7,f7 ,post-traumatic stress disorder4 7,g7 ,substance use disorder4 7,h7 ,such other conditions as may be designated by the ,under ,secretary for ,health4 7#b7 ,the term innovative therapy means any of the following3 7,a7 #c1d-,methylenedioxy-methamphetamine4 7,b7 #e-,methoxy-,n1,n-dimethyltryptamine4 7,c7 ,ibogaine4 7,d7 ,ketamine4 7,e7 ,psilocybin4 7,f7 ,such other therapies as may be designated by the ,under ,secretary for ,health4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #gccj;,d the following new item3 #gccj;,e4 ,innovative therapies centers of excellence4 4