H.R. 2102: Major Richard Star Act

The Major Richard Star Act targets a specific group: service members retired under Chapter 61 — the military's medical disability retirement — who also have combat-related disabilities rated by the VA. Under current law, their military retired pay is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of their VA disability compensation. The bill eliminates that offset entirely.

This matters most for veterans who were forced out before reaching 20 years of service. Congress already fixed this problem for longer-serving retirees back in 2003, but left out the combat-disabled veterans who were medically retired early — often because their injuries were too severe to continue serving. The result is a system where the most seriously wounded veterans get the worst deal.

The bill amends two sections of federal law. First, it updates the Combat-Related Special Compensation statute so eligible retirees' pay is no longer reduced by their VA disability amount. Second, it rewrites the general concurrent receipt rule to carve out Chapter 61 retirees with combat-related disabilities. It also cleans up expired phase-in language from the original 2003 concurrent receipt law.

Payments start the first day of the first month after the bill becomes law — no phase-in, no waiting period. If signed in July, the first unreduced checks go out in August.