A senior House Democrat is urging congressional leaders to break up a stalled veterans omnibus package and move individual bills — including the Major Richard Star Act — to speed action on long-delayed veterans benefits, according to Navy Times.
- Navy Times reported the lawmaker’s push is aimed at bypassing deadlocked negotiations over a broad, multi-bill veterans package.
- The Major Richard Star Act would expand “concurrent receipt,” allowing more medically retired veterans to receive full military retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time, Navy Times reported.
- The measure is named for Maj. Richard Star, an Army officer who died in 2021 after a cancer diagnosis; supporters have argued the current offset penalizes some combat-injured and medically retired veterans, according to Navy Times.
- The omnibus package has been used as a vehicle to bundle multiple veterans proposals into one negotiation; splitting it could allow narrower bills with broader agreement to advance sooner, Navy Times reported.
- The push comes as veterans groups and some lawmakers continue pressing for action on concurrent receipt changes that affect monthly retirement income for medically retired service members.
Congress frequently packages veterans measures into large “omnibus” or “manager’s” bills to streamline floor time and negotiate tradeoffs. But that approach can also stall widely supported provisions when any part of the larger package becomes a sticking point. Navy Times described the current effort as an attempt to keep high-priority items moving even if the full package remains stuck.
For federal employees and military retirees, the Major Richard Star Act is closely watched because it targets a specific pay issue: the interaction between DoD retired pay and VA disability compensation for certain medical retirees. Under current rules, many retirees with VA ratings can receive both, but some medically retired veterans — including those with fewer than 20 years of service — can see their retired pay reduced because of the VA offset. The proposal would change that for eligible populations, increasing take-home income for affected retirees if enacted.
If you’re a medically retired veteran or a survivor trying to understand how retirement income changes could affect your household budget, you can estimate retirement impacts using this FERS retirement calculator (useful for civilian retirement planning alongside military/VA income).
Source: Navy Times