Official Summaries

Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2025

This bill expands the Scott Hannon Initiative for Precision Mental Health, a program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Specifically, the bill expands the scope of the initiative by requiring the identification and validation of brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans for repetitive low-level blast exposure, dementia, and other such brain conditions. Currently, the initiative addresses several other conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The VA must work with the Department of Defense to establish a data-sharing partnership under the initiative.

The bill requires the VA to conduct various research studies about repetitive low-level blast exposure under the initiative.

The VA must seek to enter into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to work in tandem with the initiative on validation of brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans and report on the findings at least once every two years.

The VA must assess all in progress and planned translational research studies under the initiative and report to Congress on the assessment.

Additionally, the VA must report to Congress on the initiative at least once every two years and include recommendations for immediate administrative and legislative action to improve the initiative.

The bill authorizes the initiative through FY2034.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 800 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 800

    To modify the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative of the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2025

  Mr. Moran (for himself and Mr. King) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To modify the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative of the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Precision Brain Health Research Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PRECISION MEDICINE FOR VETERANS INITIATIVE.

    Section 305 of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental 
Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (38 U.S.C. 1712A note; Public Law 
116-171) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and such other mental 
        health conditions'' and inserting ``repetitive low-level blast 
        exposure, dementia, and such other brain and mental health 
        conditions'';
            (2) in subsection (d)(4), by adding at the end the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(E) Data-sharing partnership.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall work 
                        with the Secretary of Defense to establish a 
                        data-sharing partnership between the Department 
                        of Veterans Affairs and the Department of 
                        Defense.
                            ``(ii) Storage.--The partnership 
                        established under clause (i) shall be stored in 
                        the open platform made available under this 
                        paragraph.
                            ``(iii) Data.--The data supplied by the 
                        Secretary of Defense shall include all relevant 
                        data, Department-wide, collected through--
                                    ``(I) the United States Armed 
                                Forces;
                                    ``(II) the United States Special 
                                Operations Command; and
                                    ``(III) the Long-Term Impact of 
                                Military-Relevant Brain Injury 
                                Consortium Chronic Effects of 
                                Neurotrauma Consortium maintained by 
                                the Defense Health Agency.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(f) Repetitive Low-Level Blast Exposure Research.--In carrying 
out the initiative under subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall conduct the following research:
            ``(1) A big-data assessment of the clinical and non-
        clinical interventions that are illustrating positive outcomes 
        for patients within the health system of the Veterans Health 
        Administration with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries, 
        including a categorization of military occupational 
        specialties, and units, known to experience higher levels of 
        low-level repetitive blast injuries.
            ``(2) Not fewer than two large-scale implementation studies 
        of research-proven interventions within such health system for 
        patients with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries, 
        including a categorization of military occupational 
        specialties, and units, known to experience higher levels of 
        low-level repetitive blast injuries.
            ``(3) A translational research study on the use of growth 
        hormone replacement therapy on the improvement of cognitive 
        function, quality of life, brain structure, and other negative 
        symptoms on patients within such health system with likely low-
        level repetitive blast injuries.
            ``(4) Not fewer than four large-scale quality improvement 
        studies on improving the diagnosis and care of veteran patients 
        with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries.
    ``(g) Assistance and Report by National Academies of Sciences, 
Engineering, and Medicine.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of the Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2025, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into a contract with 
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under 
which the National Academies shall--
            ``(1) work in tandem with the initiative under subsection 
        (a) on validation of brain and mental health biomarkers among 
        veterans; and
            ``(2) not less frequently than once every two years, 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 work completed under paragraph (1).
    ``(h) Assessment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        conduct an assessment of all translational research studies in 
        progress and planned under the initiative under subsection (a), 
        including research under subsection (f).
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 60 days after completion of 
        the assessment conducted under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        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 assessment.
    ``(i) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not less frequently than once every two 
        years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 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 initiative under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Recommendations.--Each report required by paragraph 
        (1) shall include recommendations for immediate administrative 
        and legislative action to improve the initiative under 
        subsection (a).
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 to carry 
out the initiative under subsection (a) for each of fiscal years 2025 
through 2034.''.
                                 <all>