Leading lawmakers and veterans groups are renewing their push for a bill that would dramatically expand benefits for veterans injured in combat.
The Major Richard Star Act, as the bill is called, would ensure all service members who medically retire have full access to both military retirement pay and Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits. The bill had some momentum last year but has since stalled.
But veterans service organizations on Capitol Hill this week and lawmakers from both parties who are sponsoring the bill are now vowing to keep fighting until the bill crosses the finish line.
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“We’re not going to stop until we fix this injustice for our veterans and their loved ones,” Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon alongside a throng of veterans.
“I know that the VSOs and the veteran community can come together, and they can help us get this done,” Tester added. “We saw it with the PACT Act. We saw veterans step up and make a big difference and actually, the truth is, got the bill passed in the United States Senate. We’re going to have to do it again with the Major Richard Star Act.”
Right now, veterans with fewer than 20 years of service and a disability rating of less than 50% have their retirement pay reduced by a dollar for every dollar of disability pay…
