(U.S. Senate) – The Elizabeth Dole Foundation recently awarded Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester their 2024 Dole Congressional Caregiver Champion Award for his numerous legislative efforts and longstanding commitment to supporting the nation’s veteran caregivers and their families. 

“It’s an honor to receive the Congressional Caregiver Champion Award from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and Senator Elizabeth Dole, a champion for veteran caregivers and their families across the nation,” said Chairman Tester. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done together to ensure caregivers receive the support they’ve earned. And as Chairman, I’ll keep fighting to push the Elizabeth Dole legislative package across the finish line to continue improving caregivers’ health care and benefits with common-sense, bipartisan fixes.”

“Senator Jon Tester has fiercely advocated for veterans and caregivers since he arrived in Congress and it is our honor to award him the 2024 Dole Congressional Caregiver Champion Award,” said Steve Schwab, Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s CEO. “Senator Tester continues to work across the aisle to champion critical legislation for our community, especially the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, and we are immensely grateful for his work.”

This Congress, Tester worked with bipartisan and bicameral colleagues to introduce the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act to reform and improve Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, benefits, and services for veterans, caregivers, and military survivors. The legislative package includes critical provisions to improve access to home and community-based care, expand mental health care support for family caregivers, and improve VA’s coordination with Veterans Service Organizations to provide caregivers support.

Tester led the fight for years to expand the Caregivers Program to veterans of all eras—successfully including language in the bipartisan VA MISSION Act of 2018. However, in 2020 VA defied Congress’ intent and the concerns of veterans and caregivers by enacting restrictive regulations that narrowed the program’s eligibility. Since the implementation of the restrictive regulations, Tester has continuously raised concerns and called on the Department to fix its tightened eligibility criteria for the Caregivers Program.