Senators’ Major Richard Star Act would provide combat-injured veterans with full earned disability compensation and retirement pay
WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine combat veteran and member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, backed the Major Richard Star Act—bipartisan legislation to provide combat-injured veteran retirees their full benefits.
Currently, only veterans with disability ratings above 50 percent and more than 20 years of service are eligible to receive the full amount of their Department of Defense (DOD) retirement and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments—leaving behind more than 50,000 combat-injured military retirees. The Major Richard Star Act will fix this unjust policy for retired combat veterans—providing them their full VA disability and DOD retirement payments.
“The brave men and women I served with put everything on the line for our country, and some came home with injuries that forced them to retire early. But right now, too many combat-injured veterans are forced to choose between the retirement and disability benefits they earned,” said Senator Gallego. “This bill corrects that injustice and makes sure our nation’s heroes get the full benefits they deserve.”
This bipartisan legislation is named in honor of Major Richard A. Star, a decorated war veteran who was forced to medically retire due to his combat-related injuries. Major Star sadly lost his battle with cancer on February 13, 2021. The Senators’ legislation has 43 bipartisan cosponsors.
Senator Gallego has been a long-time supporter of this bill in the House.
The Major Richard Star Act is supported by the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), Air & Space Forces Association (AFA), American GI Forum, The American Legion, American Military Society, American Veterans (AMVETS), Armed Forces Retiree Association, Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS), Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Blue Star Families, Burn Pits 360, Chief Warrant Officers Association of the US Coast Guard (CWOA), Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc. (COA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA), Heroes Athletic Association, Gold Star Wives of America (GSW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America (JWV), K9s for Warriors, Marine Corps League (MCL), Marine Corps Reserve Association (MCRA), Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America (MCA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Mission Roll Call, National Defense Committee, National Military Family Association (NMFA), Naval Enlisted Reserve Association (NERA), Non-Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA), Operation First Response, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Quality of Life Foundation, Reserve Organization of America (ROA), Stronghold Freedom Foundation, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), The Independence Fund (TIF), United States Army Warrant Officers Association (USAWOA), USCG Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA), VetsFirst/United Spinal Association, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Wounded Paw Project, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).