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(U.S. Senate) – The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) today awarded U.S. Senator Jon Tester the 2023 Colonel Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award for his commitment to serving the nation’s veterans and their families in his capacity as Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Among his legislative accomplishments, Tester was specifically honored for his leadership on delivering toxic-exposed veterans comprehensive health care and benefits under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award from the Military Officers Association of America who’ve been great partners in our fight to deliver veterans and their families the care, benefits, and respect they deserve,” said Tester. “I’m particularly proud of the work we accomplished to deliver toxic-exposed veterans long-overdue relief under the bipartisan PACT Act. Ensuring we make good on the promises made to our men and women who served in uniform is my top priority as Chairman, and I’ll never back down from defending their hard-earned support.”

As the only member of the Montana delegation who sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Tester has worked for years alongside MOAA and numerous Veterans Service Organizations to improve the delivery of health care services and benefits for those who served and their families. This includes laws authored by Tester to deliver for toxic-exposed veterans under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act, strengthen support for women veterans under the Deborah Sampson Act, bolster mental health care services under the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act (Hannon Act), as well as bolster veterans’ access to community care and expand VA caregiver benefits to veterans of all eras and their families under the VA MISSION Act.

Tester is continuing his push to expand critical health care and benefits to the nation’s veterans, their families, and survivors—holding VA accountable in implementing landmark laws including the PACT Act. The Senator is also demanding swift Congressional action on his Major Richard Star Act, bipartisan legislation to fix an injustice that prevents combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service from receiving their full military benefits, and on his bipartisan Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act to expand home and community-based services for aging veterans, as well as improve support for veterans and caregivers of all ages.