HELENA, Mont. – The State’s Congressional Delegation is saying health care and mental care services for veterans could be hurt if the VA is forced to cut 10,000 front-line care providers.

CNN reported early this month that the VA eliminated those front-line jobs throughout the agency.

Now leaders have said that’s not the case, but Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester, who is the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, is pushing back right now on the VA undersecretary saying that he doesn’t want to see this happen. "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," said Senator Tester.

Republican Senator Steve Daines and Representatives Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke all provided a joint statement in a letter to the VA saying: "We are writing today to inquire about media reports that indicate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials are expected to eliminate a total of 10,000 frontline jobs that serve clinical needs for veteran health care. These 10,000 jobs include psychologists, clinical social workers, and others who have a direct impact on the care veterans receive each and every day at VA facilities across the country. If these reports are true, the fact that job cuts were made to frontline positions directly contradicts claims made by you and other agency leaders who have previously declared that such front-line position would be free from cuts. This would also be the latest in a long list of failures and your department that illustrate a VA in disarray and woefully unprepared or unwilling to adequately serve those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms."

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Concerns raised over possible job cuts at the Montana VA