Major Richard Star Act Aims to End Pay Offset for Combat-Disabled Military Retirees

This bill, named the Major Richard Star Act, directly tackles a long-standing issue for certain military retirees. It amends Title 10 of the U.S. Code to allow veterans who were medically retired due to combat-related disabilities to receive both their full military retirement pay and their Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation. Currently, many veterans see their retirement pay reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of their VA disability pay, an offset this bill seeks to eliminate for this specific group.

Untangling the Paychecks

So, what's changing on the ground? The core of the bill modifies Section 1413a and Section 1414 of Title 10, effectively telling the government not to apply the usual reduction rules (found in Title 38, Sections 5304 and 5305) to these combat-disabled retirees. Think of it like this: if a soldier was medically retired because of injuries sustained in a combat zone and receives $1,000/month in VA disability, their $2,000/month retirement check wouldn't be cut down to $1,000 anymore. Under this act, they'd receive the full $2,000 retirement plus the $1,000 VA disability payment.

Who Qualifies for Concurrent Receipt?

It's important to note the specifics here. This change applies to uniformed service members who are entitled to retired pay under Chapter 61 of Title 10 (which deals with retirement or separation for physical disability) and whose disabilities are classified as combat-related by the VA. It doesn't cover all disabled veterans, only those meeting these specific criteria. The bill also cleans up some outdated language in the law, removing references to old phase-in periods. If enacted, these changes kick in starting the first day of the month after the bill becomes law, impacting paychecks from that point forward.