The Major Richard Star Act · H.R. 2102
They were injured in combat. Congress still takes back their retirement pay.
Tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans, medically retired before 20 years of service, are denied their full military retired pay because they also receive VA disability compensation. The clean, standalone Major Richard Star Act ends that. On November 11, the House voted 245–175 to move it forward, and the final House votes come next. Help finish it.
A soldier on patrol at sunset in Sar Hawza District, Paktika province, Afghanistan, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith
Thanksgiving week
Home for the holiday? Talk about the Star Act at the table.
Many people have never heard of the offset. Our one-page conversation kit explains it in a minute, answers the questions people ask, and gives you a message to text, so the conversation turns into calls.
After the election: keep going
Election results don’t decide the Star Act. The members serving now cast the votes in November and December, including those who are retiring or lost re-election. Members elected this year don’t take office until January 3, 2027, the day this Congress ends, and the bill dies if it hasn’t passed by then.
So the most useful thing you can do hasn’t changed: contact your representative and both senators, and keep at it until the Star Act passes the House and the Senate.
The Star Act by the numbers
About
54,000–60,000
combat-injured veterans are affected. Estimates vary by source.
218
House signatures on the discharge petition, reached Sept. 15, 2026. That lets supporters force a House vote.
Jan. 3, 2027
If Congress hasn’t passed it and sent it to the President by the time this Congress ends, it dies and must be reintroduced.
01 The problem in one minute
Two payments, earned for two different reasons
- Retired pay
- is earned by years of service.
- VA disability compensation
- is for an injury or illness caused by service.
Veterans who serve 20 years and have a 50% or higher VA rating can generally receive both in full. But a service member whose combat injuries forced a medical retirement before 20 years has their retired pay reduced by the amount of their VA compensation.
They were retired early because of their injuries, and that early medical retirement is exactly what triggers the offset.
Illustration comparing two payments. Retired pay is earned by service. VA compensation is for the injury. Today, for a combat-injured veteran medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years of service, part of the retired pay is cut away by the offset. With the clean Star Act, both payments are paid in full.
02 What the clean Star Act does
A narrow fix for the people it was always meant for
- Lets combat-injured veterans medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years receive both their full retired pay and their VA compensation.
- Doesn’t cut any other veteran’s benefits to pay for it.
- Starts the first month after it becomes law. Not retroactive.
That’s the difference from the 62-bill package the House passed on Veterans Day, which pays for its version by cutting disability compensation for future veterans. We oppose that package.
A route-clearance patrol climbs a mountain road near Forward Operating Base Tillman, Paktika province, Afghanistan, 2012. Clearing roads of buried bombs was the work of Maj. Star’s engineer units. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kimberly Trumbull
03 Who it’s for
“Combat-related” is broader than you might think
It includes Purple Heart injuries and disabilities caused by armed conflict, hazardous service, conditions simulating war (like training exercises), or an instrumentality of war. Toxic exposures like burn pits can qualify when they’re tied to these conditions.
The clean Star Act covers about 54,000–60,000 combat-injured veterans medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years of service.
04 Where it stands · checked November 11, 2026
Two steps done. Three to go.
- IntroducedMarch 2025(done)
- 218 signaturesSept. 15, 2026(done)
- House voteNextDischarge vote passed Nov. 11; final votes next(next step)
- Senate passageBefore Jan. 3, 2027(not yet)
- Signed into law(not yet)
Next
On November 11, the House voted 245–175 to discharge H.Res. 1247, the resolution that brings the clean, standalone Star Act to the floor. After debate, a voice vote on the resolution went against it, a recorded vote was demanded, and the House postponed that vote. If the House adopts the resolution, it then debates and votes on the bill.
The Star Act has 342 House cosponsors and 80 in the Senate, from both parties.
Cosponsors of the bill as introduced, per Congress.gov.
05 What to ask
Ask your representative to vote YES.
On November 11, the House voted 245–175 to bring the resolution for the clean, standalone Star Act to the floor. The recorded vote on that resolution, and then the vote on the bill, come next. Ask your representative one question:
“Will you vote YES on the clean, standalone Major Richard Star Act when it reaches the floor, with no cuts to other veterans’ benefits?”
The U.S. Capitol at sunset, Washington, D.C., 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich
06 Your story
What would your offset cover?
Rent. A car that works. Therapy. A daughter’s braces. Tell us what the money taken from you would pay for, and we’ll help you put it in front of Congress.
This would be their win.
In memory
Maj. Richard Star
U.S. Army Reserve. Combat engineer. Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq. Medically retired short of 20 years with stage 4 lung cancer linked to burn pits. He spent his last months fighting for this bill. He died on February 13, 2021.
He never got to see it pass.
