Last Wednesday, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) re-introduced H.R. 1282, the Major Richard Star Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service their full benefits. The previous Monday, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Ranking Member Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS.), and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced the bill, S. 344, in the Senate.
The bill is named in honor of Maj. Star, a decorated war veteran who, as a result of his combat-related injuries, was medically retired. On February 13, 2021, Maj. Star sadly lost his battle with cancer that was linked to toxic exposures from multiple overseas deployments. He was 51 years old.
Under current law, Servicemembers who are medically retired due to combat-related injuries before reaching 20 years of service are prevented from collecting both their service earned retirement pay and VA disability compensation. These two benefits, established by Congress for entirely different reasons, are nonetheless subject to a statutory offset. The Major Richard Star Act will authorize concurrent receipt of DoD retired pay, for years of service, and VA disability compensation for injuries incurred in service. This legislation is another small step in correcting a larger concurrent receipt problem. Official text of the bill can be found HERE.