House passes bill to expand benefits for combat-injured veterans
The House approved legislation Thursday that would allow combat-injured military retirees with less than 20 years of service to collect their full military retirement pay and Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation without the dollar-for-dollar offset that currently reduces their retirement benefits.
The passage of the Major Richard Star Act, H.R. 2102, sends the measure to the Senate, where lawmakers must still approve it before it can reach the president’s desk.
The vote followed a months-long effort led by Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, to force consideration of the standalone legislation.
On May 21, Takano and Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., began an effort to force a House vote on a resolution that would set the rules for bringing the Major Richard Star Act to the floor. The petition reached the required 218 signatures on Sept. 15, with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., providing the decisive endorsement.
On Thursday, lawmakers adopted H. Res. 1247 by a 271-135 vote, clearing the way for final consideration of the Star Act.
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., who signed the discharge petition, urged the Senate to act following Thursday’s passage.
“By finally passing the Major Richard Star Act, a bipartisan coalition just took a major step to follow through on that mission,” Courtney said in a Nov. 12 statement. He urged senators to send it to the president.
The bill’s Republican sponsor, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced the legislation in 2020. Ruiz and Takano have been leading Democratic advocates for its passage.
Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander-in-Chief Corey Geisler emphasized that securing a vote was not enough without passage of the full legislation.
“Getting a vote is not the finish line,” Geisler said. “Passing the right bill is.”
Following Thursday’s passage, Wounded Warrior Project applauded the House vote and called on the Senate to act.
“We thank House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano and Congressman Raul Ruiz for their efforts to advance the discharge petition, Congressman Gus Bilirakis for his longstanding commitment to the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act, and the members of the House of Representatives for taking an important step toward providing long-overdue relief for combat-injured veterans,” said Jose Ramos, the organization’s senior vice president of government and community relations.
The Senate companion, S. 1032, remains before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Senate has no equivalent to the House discharge-petition process, and previous attempts to advance the measure by unanimous consent were blocked by objections. The Senate must still approve the legislation before it can be passed.