(U.S. Senate) – The U.S. Senate passed bipartisan language negotiated by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester to extend critical Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) services and programs relied upon by the nation’s veterans and their families.

“We have a responsibility to ensure veterans have certainty when it comes to accessing the support they earned in service to our nation,” said Tester. “I’m proud to be leading the bipartisan effort to make sure VA can continue to deliver these essential services and programs to our veterans and their families. As Chairman, I’ll always fight to protect veterans’ access to the health care and benefits they earned.”

Tester’s Fiscal Year 2025 VA Extenders Legislation reauthorizes key veteran programs and services. It includes provisions that will protect nursing home care to disabled veterans; expand rural access networks for mental health services, including complementary and integrative mental health services like animal therapy, agritherapy, and posttraumatic growth programs; renew key programs supporting homeless and at-risk veterans; ensure transportation services for veterans traveling to and from medical appointments; and oversight language to ensure more accurate financial projections are included in VA’s annual budget request.