US HB6993

Secretary of Veterans Affairs must establish the "TBI Innovation Grant Program" to fund prospective randomized control trials for neurorehabilitation treatments for chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in veterans, with individual grants capped at $5 million per fiscal year

Eligible grant recipients include nonprofit organizations, academic institutions researching TBI, non-VA health care providers with neurorehabilitation expertise, and other entities the Secretary deems appropriate

A separate research grant program requires the Secretary to award four grants up to $625,000 each for exploratory projects and five grants up to $1.5 million each for collaborative research initiatives annually, with at least three exploratory grants going to nonprofits

Total authorized appropriations are $30 million for fiscal years 2026-2028 for the TBI Innovation Grant Program and $10 million per year for fiscal years 2026-2028 for the third-party research program

Both grant programs terminate 3 years after enactment; the Secretary must issue implementing regulations within 180 days and coordinate the programs with the Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program