major richard star act; concurrent receipt of military retired payUnder current law, not all retired service members with a service-connected disability receive their full retirement pay and disability benefits.

A veteran must have completed a minimum of 20 years of service and have a combined Department of Veterans Affairs disability rating of 50% or more to qualify for both programs without any financial offsets. DAV has long advocated that the current law is unfair and denies some disabled veterans, those with a disability rating of 40% or less, the full compensation they earned from their years of military service.

Additionally, retirees who were unable to serve the full 20 years due to combat-related disability have their retirement pay reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of their disability compensation. This offset currently affects over 50,000 combat-injured military retirees, including DAV life member and Purple Heart recipient Latoya Lucas.

Lucas medically retired in 2003 after suffering a near-fatal blow from a rocket-propelled grenade that directly hit her Humvee. (For more on Lucas’ remarkable journey and recovery, read “Here for a reason.”)

“Every year since I retired, I see the pay that was offset when I receive my end-of-year statement from the [Department of Defense],” said Lucas. “We need to fix this long-standing injustice for veterans who had their military careers cut short due to combat-related injuries like myself.”

The Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102/S. 1032), reintroduced in March, would eliminate the offset between military retirement pay and VA disability compensation, extending eligibility for concurrent receipt to another subgroup of veterans: those receiving combat-related special compensation but who have fewer than 20 years of service.

“The Major Richard Star Act is critical if we hope to do justice for our combat-disabled veterans, who deserve to receive full military benefits,” said U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, a former Army intelligence officer and member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “The Major Richard Star Act has rightly earned bipartisan support. We cannot deny the fact that we as a nation have an obligation to those who have served so selflessly. The veteran is entitled to the full concurrent receipt of benefits they’ve earned. I am proud to support this bill as an original co-sponsor.”

The bill is named for Army Maj. Richard Star, an Ohio native who enlisted in 1988 and later became an engineering officer. Suspected lung cancer from burn pit exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan led to his medical retirement and untimely death in 2021 at age 51. Until his death, Star was a dedicated advocate for his fellow disabled veterans.

“For too long, a policy has existed that unfairly reduces the retirement pay of medically retired combat veterans who also receive VA disability compensation,” said DAV National Commander Daniel Contreras. “Medically retired combat veterans should never be penalized by having their earned benefits reduced. DAV looks forward to working with Congress to correct this significant injustice.”

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal, Senator Mike Crapo, and Senator Elizabeth Warren have filed the Major Richard Star Act (S. 1032) as a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Take action with DAV CAN (Commander’s Action Network).