What the Major Richard Star Act does, and which version we support

Version 1: The bill as introduced (March 2025)

The introduced H.R. 2102 text changed two sections of law. The Congressional Budget Office read one of those changes as extending concurrent receipt to about 255,000 medically retired veterans, not just the combat-injured, and estimated the cost at $78.1 billion over 2026–2036. Staff in Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office have said the change was meant to close a narrow gap for about 1,124 combat-injured retirees. CBO’s much higher estimate changed the debate over the bill. The Senate companion bill, S. 1032, uses the same text.

Sources: CBO estimate for H.R. 2102 · Military Times, July 22, 2026 · Congress.gov: S. 1032

Version 2: The clean, standalone Star Act (the discharge version)What we support

When the House votes, it will vote on a narrower text written into the discharge resolution. Its only substantive change is to the Combat-Related Special Compensation rules, so that:

The retired pay of an eligible combat-related disabled retiree, medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years of service, is not reduced by VA disability compensation.

• Covers: about 54,000–60,000 combat-injured veterans, the group the bill always targeted.
• Starts: the first month after it becomes law. No back pay.
• Paid for by cutting other benefits? No.
• Cost: CBO hasn’t published a score for this version yet. CBO estimated the earlier, similarly targeted 2023 version at about $10 billion in direct spending over ten years. (CBO estimate for the 2023 version · CBO estimate for the introduced text)

Sources: GovInfo: H.Res. 1247 text · MOAA, Sept. 2026

Version 3: The Star Act inside a 62-bill package

The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) includes a narrower Star Act provision, with a longevity cap for retirees under 20 years and a fixed January 1, 2027, start date. It is paid for by lowering VA disability ratings for future claims for sleep apnea successfully managed with a CPAP and for tinnitus. House leaders pulled it just before a final vote on July 16, 2026.

Veterans organizations disagree about the package. Some support every avenue that moves the fix; others, like DAV, oppose cutting future veterans’ benefits to pay for it.

Our view: combat-injured veterans shouldn’t wait on a 62-bill package, and no veteran’s benefits should be cut to pay for this one. Pass the clean Star Act now.

Sources: Stars and Stripes, July 16, 2026 · Stars and Stripes, July 23, 2026 · GovInfo: H.R. 9237 text · House Veterans’ Affairs Committee

What happens next

The discharge motion must wait seven legislative days before a petition signer can call it up. A vote is expected after the House returns in November.

With 218 signatures, the discharge motion goes on the House’s discharge calendar and must sit for seven legislative days. Then any signer can announce they’ll call it up, and the Speaker must schedule it within two legislative days. The House votes first on the motion to discharge, then on the resolution, then on the bill itself. The petition makes a vote possible, but it doesn’t guarantee an immediate one: a signer has to call it up, and House leaders can try to act first.

Then the Senate must pass it, and it must reach the President, before this Congress ends on January 3, 2027.

Sources: MOAA, Sept. 2026 · Stars and Stripes, Sept. 16, 2026 · Roll Call, Sept. 16, 2026