Tester pushes for Butte Veterans Home

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – Senator Jon Tester is pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to fund the Southwest Montana State Veterans Home in Butte, Montana.

Tester wrote a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to urge him to prioritize funding the new veterans’ home.  Sixty-five percent of the cost of construction of state-run veterans’ homes can be funded by federal grants while 35 percent must be funded by the state.

“Montana is home to the second largest veterans’ population per capita in the nation, and this, along with the increasing needs of our Korean and Vietnam War-era veterans highlight the urgent need for such a facility in southwest Montana,” Tester wrote.  “State Extended Care Facilities have consistently provided accommodations for veterans across the country who seek a supportive living environment and the dignity of resident-centered, long-term care from highly trained providers.”

Tester met with veterans leaders from across southwest Montana in March 2010 and pledged his support for the new home.

Tester’s letter to Shinseki is below and online HERE.

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The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki                                
Secretary                                                                    
Department of Veterans Affairs                                
810 Vermont Avenue, NW                                        
Washington, DC 20420                                             
                                                                                                           
Dear Secretary Shinseki:

I write in support of the State of Montana’s request for conditional funding to establish the Southwest Montana State Veterans Home in Butte, Montana.  The services provided by State Extended Care Facilities are of particular importance to veterans of my State, and the establishment of such a facility in Butte would address the growing needs of veterans in that community and the surrounding areas.  I certainly understand and appreciate the difficulties of working in the current fiscal climate but respectfully urge the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to devote conditional funding to this critical project. 

State Extended Care Facilities have consistently provided accommodations for veterans across the country who seek a supportive living environment and the dignity of resident-centered long-term care from highly trained providers.  As you know, Montana is home to the second largest veterans’ population per capita in the nation, and this, along with the increasing needs of our Korean and Vietnam War-era veterans highlight the urgent need for such a facility in southwest Montana. 

I am pleased that the State of Montana has already met nearly all of the requirements for this conditional funding request.  As you may know, the State will submit the final documentation for this project by August 15.  Congress and the VA have worked together closely over the years to further the State Extended Care Facilities grant program, and you can be certain I will continue fighting to ensure the program receives the funding it needs and deserves.  Without these funds, veterans’ facilities, like the one requested by the State of Montana, would not be possible. 

I applaud your leadership and the ongoing work of the VA to place a top priority on the health care needs of our veterans.  In that spirit, I am hopeful you will give full consideration to the State of Montana’s request for conditional funding to establish the Southwest Montana State Veterans Home in Butte, Montana.  Doing so would provide a critical service to a veterans community desperately in need.  I look forward to working with you, and I appreciate your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
                                               
Jon Tester

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