(U.S. Senate) — Continuing his oversight efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today called on the Biden Administration to take immediate action to protect Montana veterans’ access to health care and mental health care by reversing its decision to cut staffing at VA Montana.

“I write to express my concerns that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) recently announced staffing reductions will hit hardest in rural areas like Montana and call on you and the Department to reverse them,” Tester wrote in a letter to VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the Department’s top health care official that is tasked with overseeing VHA. “Any effort to reduce hiring for high-demand mental health positions, especially those in rural areas, could have dire consequences on Montana veterans’ access to health care and benefits. VA needs to focus on hiring more mental health care providers in rural America – not less.”

Earlier this year, VA announced it would cut staffing across VHA nationwide. Tester has repeatedly raised red flags about the impact this hiring strategy could have on veterans in Montana and rural America. This letter comes on the heels of VA Montana indicating that mental health employees are among the positions proposed to be cut—despite prior assurances from VA leaders to Congress affirming mental health hiring would be exempt from their new staffing strategy.

Tester highlighted this move is contrary to guarantees VA made to Congress, writing: “Earlier this year, the Department made assurances to Congress that any new staffing strategies would include continuing to hire mental health care providers—especially in rural areas. However, this is evidently not the case as more than 10 percent of the positions proposed to be cut just at VA Montana were providers or support staff directly related to mental health care.”

Tester continued citing his concerns, “Mental health is one of the biggest issues facing my state, and particularly our veterans. This decision to cut critical mental health positions at VA Montana is unjustifiable and unacceptable, especially in a state that ranked third highest in rate of deaths by suicide among veterans of any state in the nation. I urge you to prioritize the unique challenges of veterans and providers in rural America as you re-evaluate VHA’s staffing strategy, and to not needlessly reduce access to care for veterans in rural America.”

Underscoring the importance of delivering for Montana veterans by ensuring the Department has the staff in place to serve them, Tester concluded: “Veterans earned and deserve the best and most timely care regardless of where they live. Doing right by rural veterans requires VA to have the staff in place to serve each and every one of them in every corner of the state. A lot of work remains to honor our promises to these folks, and I will continue holding the Department accountable to honor those promises.”

As Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Tester has been leading the charge in Congress to hold VA accountable to ensure it has the staff in place to best serve veterans and make sure the Department continues to hire mental health providers, especially in Montana and rural areas afflicted by hire suicide rates. In April, Tester sent a letter to VA Secretary McDonough pressing VA to improve rural veterans’ mental health care by continuing to hire mental health providers. Tester sent an additional letter in April to McDonough pressing for more information on the Department’s hiring plan and expressing his frustration with conflicting communications Congress and VA employees in the leaders in the field received about potential cuts and hiring limitations.

In May, Tester questioned the Secretary again on VA’s decision to cut staff at VHA, despite recent increases in veterans’ health care enrollment and eligibility, at a hearing on VA’s budget request. He also raised alarms about VA mental health care hiring at a rural veterans hearing, where he pressed VA officials to ensure VA continues to hire mental health providers in rural areas amid VA’s decision to reduce VHA staff.

Read Tester’s full letter HERE.