Federal Rule Change Sparks Debate Over Rural Veterans Employment Services

WASHINGTON — Rural veterans seeking employment assistance face new barriers under a federal rule change that could limit their access to job training and career services, according to bipartisan senators who are urging the Department of Labor to reverse course.

The Department of Labor recently implemented changes to the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) that require grant applicants to maintain physical locations within 50 miles of any county they wish to serve. The new rule follows a “hub and spoke” model that senators say creates unnecessary obstacles for veterans in rural areas.

U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nevada) sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer expressing concerns about the rule change’s impact on rural veterans.

“The hub-and-spoke model consistently fails rural veterans and creates unnecessary and arduous barriers for organizations that seek to assist them,” the senators wrote in their letter. “It is simply not practical for veterans’ service organizations to maintain physical locations in all or even most counties in rural states like ours, which limits the areas they can serve.”

The HVRP is a federal grant program that provides employment opportunities and career training to homeless veterans. According to the senators’ letter, the program has served veterans since its inception in 1987 and administered services to nearly 16,000 veterans in program year 2023.

The new requirement, issued under notice FOA-VETS-25-01, represents a policy approach that both Congress and the first Trump Administration previously considered and rejected. Congress held public discussions about implementing the hub-and-spoke model in 2019 but ultimately decided against pursuing it.

The senators argue the change disproportionately affects rural areas where vast distances between communities make it impractical for organizations to establish physical offices in every county they serve. In states like Montana, Maine, and Nevada, counties can span hundreds of miles, making the 50-mile requirement particularly challenging for service providers.

Samuel Redfern, CEO of Montana Veterans Association, generally supports the senators’ position but suggests a more nuanced approach than completely rescinding the rule.

“I think Daines is going for the hard push here, but I think they should have the rule,” Redfern said. “I think the Trump administration got it right the first time and they should allow for exemptions in rural areas like Alaska, Montana.”

Redfern said he understands the need for physical presence to prevent what he calls “astroturf organizations” from gaining undue influence in Montana’s veterans community, but believes the barriers for rural service delivery are too great under the current rule.

“It is good to have a physical location so that these people who are running this service are integrated with the veterans on the ground, but I do understand, like, in rural areas, that might be difficult,” Redfern said.

He suggests that organizations receiving grants in rural exemption areas should be required to partner with local Montana-based veterans organizations to provide oversight and accountability.

“I think if the organizations that receive the grants had a simple requirement to work with a local Montana-based organization, an MOU [memorandum of understanding] to provide some oversight and accountability or to provide perhaps referrals, I think that would be the ideal partnership,” Redfern said.

The HVRP connects veterans with competitive employment through career exploration, technical training, job placement, and support services designed to help them obtain sustainable, long-term employment. The program also promotes veterans assisting other veterans and has provided former servicemembers with pathways to employment since 1987.

Under the current system, organizations can serve veterans across wide geographic areas without maintaining costly physical infrastructure in every location. The senators argue this flexibility is essential for reaching veterans in remote rural communities who already face challenges accessing services.

Redfern noted that Montana has eight strong, independently run veterans organizations that have built significant trust in their communities, including Veterans Navigation Network in Billings and Montana Veterans Association Impact Montana.

“I would advise that it would be wise in rural states to work with, if you’re having an East Coast group come in, to work with a Montana-based organization as well on that, this is a community tackle type issue,” he said.

The letter also notes that the rule change could reduce overall support available to veterans by creating additional administrative and financial burdens for organizations seeking to serve them.

“We have significant concerns regarding the effects of this change on the veterans of rural America, as well as the Department of Labor’s implementation of that program,” the senators wrote to Chavez-DeRemer.

“Our nation owes a debt to our veterans, and we must ensure that the federal government is working to get them more support, not less,” the senators concluded in their letter.

The Department of Labor has not yet responded to the senators’ request to rescind the rule change. The senators copied Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins on their correspondence, highlighting the cross-agency coordination needed to effectively serve veterans.