(U.S. Senate) - U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that the Boeing Company won the contract to replace Malmstrom Air Force Base's fleet of aging UH-1N "Huey" helicopters.

Tester recently secured $258 million to replace Malmstrom's Huey fleet in a bipartisan government funding agreement that provides resources and equipment to the Armed Forces. The Air Force subsequently awarded the Boeing Company the contract to replace the Huey fleet with MH-139 helicopters, training devices, and support equipment.

"The men and women at Malmstrom are on the front lines of keeping Montana and our nation safe," said Tester. "Their aircraft and equipment should reflect their crucial role in keeping America and Montana safe. The new fleet of MH-139 helicopters will make sure Malmstrom has the resources it needs to get the mission done for years to come."

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(U.S. Senate)-U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are introducing legislation that will overturn the U.S. Treasury Department's controversial new decision that allows special interests to hide their donors from the IRS.

The Senators are introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution, an aggressive legislative tool that can force a Senate vote on the issue.

"We must crack down on the dark money flooding our political system, that's why we are taking an aggressive approach and introducing this legislation to protect our democracy and hold special interests accountable with transparency," said Tester. "We cannot allow special interests to hide in the darkness."

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(Kalispell, Mont.) - To recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is working with Republicans and Democrats to combat the growing suicide epidemic in Indian Country.

Tester is sponsoring the bipartisan Native American Suicide Prevention Act, which will ensure collaboration between states and tribes on the development and implementation of statewide suicide intervention and prevention strategies. Tester's bill will empower tribes to develop culturally relevant initiatives that respond to the unique needs of tribal communities, who are often disproportionately impacted by this epidemic.

"We need all hands on deck when it comes to preventing suicide and giving our neighbors in Indian Country the life-saving resources they deserve," Tester said. "This bipartisan bill gives Montana's tribes a much-needed seat at the table to fight this crisis head on. We have got to work together to support Native Americans and ensure they have access to the resources they need."

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(Kalispell, Mont.) - U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured a grant to help combat sexual and domestic violence in Butte.

The $490,773 grant will benefit Safe Space and Montana Legal Services Association, enabling them to advocate for and provide legal services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking across southwest Montana.

"Making our communities safer is one of my top priorities," Tester said. "The grant will help survivors of these awful crimes find the support they need, and it will help officials hold the criminals who commit such crimes accountable."

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(U.S. Senate) - U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured big investments in rural health care and addiction treatment today with the passage of the bipartisan 2019 Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill.

"If we want Montana to thrive we have to keep Montanans healthy," Tester said. "This legislation will help expand access to health care in rural areas and lower costs, while also combatting drug abuse and addiction."

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(Big Sandy, Mont.) - Following a ProPublica investigation suggesting outside political influence on policy decisions at the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA), U.S. Senator Jon Tester is leading the fight to ensure the VA is maintaining its focus on serving the best interests of the nation's veterans.

In a sweeping investigation that turned up hundreds of internal documents, ProPublica reports that three unofficial, unelected political advisors, none of whom are veterans, have considerable sway over the beleaguered Department and its top leaders.

Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-Or.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa,), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) today urged newly confirmed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to "right the ship" on behalf of America's veterans to keep political influence out of the VA. 

"We are concerned that many of the actions taken by VA in the time between your departure from the Acting Secretary role and your swearing-in as Secretary were planned and executed to serve political interests and agendas, rather than to serve the best interests of veterans," the Senators wrote. "We believe you have the faith and confidence of the Senate to lead the Department based on the values you expressed in multiple Member meetings and in your confirmation hearing. We want you to succeed, and veterans need you to succeed. For that to happen, you will need to right the ship at VA by reassuring the nonpartisan career employees that their institutional knowledge and dedication is valued, and by ensuring that everyone under your direction operates with one principle in mind - to serve the nation's veterans and not anyone's political interests."

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(Big Sandy, Mont.) - U.S. Senator Jon Tester is raising alarms about a harmful plan to get rid of health care "Navigators" and block Montanans' access to critical health care information.

In a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, Tester urged the Administration to restore critical funding for Navigators, experts who help individuals shop for health care plans.

Azar and Verma recently decided to slash the Navigator program by $26 million.

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