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A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would allow more than 50,000 combat-disabled veterans to simultaneously receive full retirement and disability pay.
Introduced March 18, the Major Richard Star Act would change current policy, which prevents some service members with combat-related injuries from receiving both retirement and disability benefits.
Presently, the law requires a dollar-for-dollar offset of disability compensation and retirement pay.
Therefore, service members with less than 20 years of service and a disability rating of less than 50% experience a dollar taken from their retirement for every dollar they receive in disability pay.
Military personnel receive retirement pay from the Defense Department, while the Department of Veterans Affairs disburses disability compensation.
The Senate co-sponsors include Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Rick Scott, R-Fla., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., introduced the House companion bill
The measure has 185 co-sponsors in the House and 43 in the Senate as of March 18.
“This measure corrects one of the deepest injustices in our present veterans’ disability system,” said Blumenthal in a press release. “It is unacceptable that tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans are denied the full military benefits they earned.
"This legislation makes a critical change to treat our veterans fairly and support our nation's heroes. I urge my colleagues to support its quick passage," Scott said in a statement.
Before 2004, retirees, regardless of their disability rating, weren’t entitled to concurrent receipt. The Star Act would provide the final fix.
The legislation is named after Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Maj. Richard Star, who died in 2021 of cancer related to his service.
While the bill has received broad bipartisan backing in the two previous Congresses, uncertainty about total cost and the source of funding has stymied passage.
In 2022, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $9.75 billion over the 2024-2033 period. The CBO noted the number of service members who are retired because of combat-related disabilities will continue to rise over the next decade.
NGAUS supports the passage of the Star Act.
─ By Jennifer Hickey
