Lawmakers in both the Senate and House recently reintroduced the Major Richard Star Act, a bill which would provide combat-injured retirees with their full earned benefits.

The legislation (S. 1032 | H.R. 2102) addresses a long-standing and unjust offset by authorizing concurrent receipt of DoD retired pay and VA disability for those injured in a combat zone and forced to medically retire.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Support Combat-Injured Veterans]

“This measure corrects one of the deepest injustices in our present veterans’ disability system,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who introduced the bill in his chamber. “It is unacceptable that tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans are denied the full military benefits they earned. Our bipartisan bill will right this longstanding injustice and finally provide these military retirees who have already sacrificed so much their full VA disability and Defense Department retirement payments.”

The Star Act enjoys bipartisan support, with 185 cosponsors in the House and 43 in the Senate as of March 18. MOAA and our veterans service community partners are working diligently to increase this support. It is imperative that we obtain as much engagement as possible so that this critical piece of legislation can cross the finish line.

To do this, we are reaching out to congressional offices in both chambers to allay misconceptions and advocate on behalf of combat-injured veterans. However, MOAA requires your support and sustained engagement to help advance this bill and make its importance known to members of Congress. Your voice is crucial and will amplify our message to ensure lawmakers do not forget about our combat-injured veterans and their service to our nation.

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We urge you reach out to your lawmakers and encourage them to support combat-injured veterans, and to visit MOAA’s Legislative Action Center to keep track of all MOAA legislative priorities.  

Concurrent receipt for combat-injured veterans is just one of many issues impacting servicemembers and their families. MOAA encourages advocates to make use of the Legislative Action Center to support the full force, to include currently serving members, veterans, retirees, military families and survivors, and caregivers. You can follow the link to learn more about MOAA’s other key advocacy initiatives and the legislative topics that make up our signature spring advocacy event, Advocacy in Action.