WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) recently joined with a bipartisan group of colleagues to reintroduce the Major Richard Star Act– legislation led by U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)—to provide combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service their full benefits.
“Our veterans in West Virginia put sacrifice before self in their service to our nation. As a result, they deserve the full benefits they have earned through their service in our military,” Senator Capito said. “The Major Richard Star Act will ensure that combat-injured veterans with fewer than 20 years of service receive their retirement payments in full, without offset or deductions. I will always make safeguarding the benefits of our combat-injured veterans a priority, and I’m proud to support legislation that does just that.”
BACKGROUND:
Currently, only veterans with disability ratings above 50% and more than 20 years of service are eligible to receive the full amount of their U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) retirement and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments, leaving behind medically retired combat veterans with less than 20 years of service. The Major Richard Star Act will fix this policy for medically retired combat veterans—providing them their full VA disability and DoD retirement payments.
This bipartisan legislation is named in honor of Major Richard A. Star, a decorated war veteran who was forced to medically retire due to his combat-related injuries. Major Star sadly lost his battle with cancer on February 13, 2021.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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