(Big Sandy, Mont.) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today announced he secured $900,000 in funding for Montana organizations helping at-risk and homeless veterans find and attain meaningful employment.

The funding was awarded under the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program—a program made permanent under Tester’s Building Solutions for Homeless Veterans Act.

“Our veterans represent the very best of Montana and America, and we’ve got to be doing everything we can to end veterans homelessness,” said Tester. “A good paying job is an important part of tackling and preventing veterans homelessness, and I’m proud to have helped secure critical funding that will help Montana veterans find stable employment during tough times.”

The DOL’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program provides grant funding for organizations that provide homeless veterans with occupational skills, connect them with apprenticeships and other on-the-job training, and deliver job search and employment placement services.

The grant funding will be provided to the following Montana organizations that serve homeless veterans across the state and provide them with critical job assistance:

• Veterans Inc., Billings
• Volunteers of American Northern Rockies, Helena

The DOL’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program was codified under Tester’s Building Solutions for Homeless Veterans Act—legislation to cut red tape on funding for organizations helping homeless veterans that became law in 2022. Tester’s law increased funding for the program, made the program permanent, and made improvements to the program, including increasing oversight measures and requiring more outreach and technical assistance from DOL to potential grantees to make the grants more accessible.

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tester secured the funds through the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 DOL federal funding bills.