The Major Richard Star Act is a bipartisan bill in the 119th Congress that would let combat-injured veterans who were medically retired with fewer than 20 years of service receive their full military retirement pay and their full VA disability compensation at the same time, ending the dollar-for-dollar offset that currently cancels one against the other. The House version is H.R. 2102 and the Senate companion is S. 1032, which had 79 cosponsors as of 2025.1Congress.gov. S. 1032 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) Major Richard Star Act – Cosponsors If signed, the change would take effect on the first day of the first month after enactment.
The Offset the Bill Would End
Federal law bars veterans from collecting full military retirement pay and full VA disability compensation together. Under 38 U.S.C. § 5304, any veteran entitled to both must waive retirement pay equal to the VA disability amount. The VA sends the disability check; the Defense Finance and Accounting Service subtracts the same figure from the retirement check. Total monthly income does not move.
Congress carved out a fix in 2004 called Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, or CRDP, at 10 U.S.C. § 1414. CRDP lets veterans with 20 or more years of service and a VA rating of at least 50 percent collect both payments in full. But the statute explicitly excludes veterans medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years of service.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 1414
That exclusion is the whole point of the Star Act. A service member whose leg is destroyed by an IED after eight years and is then medically retired absorbs the full offset. A veteran who reaches 20 years in an office job with the same VA rating does not. The line drawn by current law tracks length of service, not the severity or origin of the injury.
Who Would Qualify
The bill is narrow. A veteran would need to meet all three conditions:
- Medically retired under Chapter 61, meaning the military found the veteran unfit for continued service due to a physical disability rated at 30 percent or higher.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 1201
- Fewer than 20 years of creditable service at the time of medical separation.
- A combat-related disability as defined by 10 U.S.C. § 1413a, covering injuries from armed conflict, hazardous duty, conditions simulating war, or an instrumentality of war.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 1413a
That definition reaches beyond gunfire and explosions. It includes toxic exposures like burn pits, training accidents, and other hazardous service conditions connected to military operations. Guard and Reserve members medically retired under similar circumstances also fall within scope.
The bill changes nothing for veterans already covered by CRDP. If you retired with 20-plus years and a 50 percent or higher rating, your concurrent receipt is already protected.
What the Offset Costs in Real Dollars
Consider a veteran medically retired after 12 years with monthly retirement pay of $1,800 and a 70 percent VA rating. In 2026, that rating pays a single veteran with no dependents $1,808.45 per month.5U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
Under current law, that veteran waives $1,800 of retirement pay to receive the $1,808.45 in VA disability. Total monthly income comes to $1,808.45 rather than the $3,608.45 the two payments would produce if neither reduced the other. Twelve years of retirement pay effectively vanishes. At a 100 percent rating, which pays $3,938.58 monthly to a single veteran with no dependents in 2026, the retirement check still drops by the full disability amount. A veteran rated at 100 percent with $2,500 in monthly retirement pay loses the entire $2,500, which under the Star Act would return — roughly $30,000 a year.
What the Bill Actually Amends
H.R. 2102 makes two targeted changes.6Congress.gov. H.R. 2102 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) Major Richard Star Act – Text
It rewrites 10 U.S.C. § 1414(b) so that any Chapter 61 retiree with a combat-related disability can receive both retirement pay and VA disability compensation concurrently, regardless of years of service. The current exclusion of retirees with fewer than 20 years disappears.
It also amends 10 U.S.C. § 1413a(b)(3) to remove the offset that caps combined payments for Chapter 61 retirees. Retirement pay for these veterans would no longer be subject to reduction under 38 U.S.C. §§ 5304 and 5305.
How Combat-Related Special Compensation Would Change
Some affected veterans already receive partial relief through Combat-Related Special Compensation, a tax-free monthly payment for military retirees with combat-related disabilities and a VA rating of at least 10 percent.7Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) CRSC was designed to restore some of the retirement pay lost to the VA waiver, and it is not taxed.8Defense Finance and Accounting Service. CRDP-CRSC FAQs
For veterans with fewer than 20 years of service, CRSC is capped. The combined total of CRSC plus any remaining retirement pay cannot exceed a ceiling tied to creditable service and retired pay base.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 1413a For someone with eight or ten years in, that cap can sit well below what the offset takes.
The Star Act would remove that cap for combat-related disability retirees. Veterans currently drawing CRSC would see overall compensation rise because the underlying offset driving the CRSC calculation would no longer apply. Those who chose CRSC over CRDP for its tax-free status would still receive it, without the length-of-service penalty.
Where the Bill Stands
The Star Act has been introduced in multiple consecutive Congresses. In the 119th Congress (2025–2026), H.R. 2102 sits in the House, and S. 1032 carries 79 Senate cosponsors — 42 Democrats, 35 Republicans, and 2 Independents.9Congress.gov. H.R. 2102 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) Major Richard Star Act
Cost has been the main obstacle. The Congressional Budget Office has published a cost estimate for H.R. 2102, and previous estimates for similar versions placed the 10-year cost in the billions, which has made budget-focused lawmakers reluctant to move it without an offset or funding mechanism. Veterans’ organizations including the Wounded Warrior Project and MOAA have made the bill a top legislative priority and continue to press for its inclusion in the annual National Defense Authorization Act.
The Veteran Behind the Name
The act is named for Major Richard Star, a U.S. Army Reserve officer who deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. He developed stage 4 lung cancer linked to burn pit exposure and other toxic conditions during his overseas service. His wife, Tonya, left her job to care for him. Major Star died on February 13, 2021. His case became a rallying point for advocacy groups because it captured what the offset penalizes: a combat veteran whose career was cut short by service-connected illness, forced to give up earned retirement pay to receive disability compensation.