From Staff Reports and the Office of Rep. Daniel Webster
According to the Wounded Warriors Project, when Service members retire from the military, they are entitled to both retired pay from the Department of Defense (DoD), and disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) if they were injured while in service. Unfortunately, only military retirees with at least 20 years of service and a disability rating of at least 50 percent are able to collect both benefits at the same time. For all other retires, current law requires a dollar for dollar offset of these two benefits, meaning they have to forfeit a portion of the benefits they earned in service. It is time to fully honor veterans who were medically retired as a result of injuries incurred in combat or combat-related training. Regardless of time in service, these veterans have earned all their benefits through their extraordinary sacrifice in defending our nation.
But under the Major Richard Star Act, that would change.
Last week, Rep. Daniel Webster of the Florida 11th District (which includes Apopka), along with Rep. Gus Bilirakis and several other members re-introduced the Major Richard Star Act. This legislation would allow combat-disabled uniform service retirees with fewer than 20 years of service to receive veterans disability compensation and retired pay, or combat-related compensation. The men and women of our military routinely face unique risks in the line of duty. It is our responsibility to recognize the extraordinary sacrifices of our service members and ensure their access to the highest quality health and rehabilitative care. I am committed to principled stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars so that we may honor our veterans and their families by fulfilling our commitments to them. We owe them a debt we can never repay.
On the Senate side, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a press conference to demand swift Congressional action on this bipartisan bill to fix an injustice that prevents combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of military service from receiving their full military benefits. Tester was joined by Military and Veterans Service Organizations and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.).
“Today, combat-injured veterans who are forced to retire before completing 20 years of service aren’t getting their full military pension, and that’s unacceptable,” said Tester. “Whenever I see troops, veterans or their families being nickled and dimed, I will take on anyone in Washington on their behalf. The Major Richard Star Act is key to fulfilling our nation’s promise to those in uniform, and I’m proud to lead this fight with Military and Veterans Service Organizations. We won’t back down until this gets signed into law, and provides combat-injured veterans the benefits, dignity, and respect they deserve and have earned.
WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?
In 2004, Congress eliminated the offset for military retirees with at least 20 years of service and disability ratings of at least 50 percent.The Major Richard Star Act would expand this policy to the 42,000 retirees whose military careers were cut short due to combat-related injuries, finally allowing them to collect hundreds of dollars per month that they have been denied up until now.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Under the Major Richard Star Act, former Service members who were medically retired from the military with less than 20 years of service (Chapter 61 retirees) AND are eligible for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) would no longer have their benefits reduced by the offset. This includes those who were retired for injuries sustained in combat and combat-related training.
WWP EFFORTS TO END THE OFFSET
DoD retired pay and VA disability compensation are two different benefits established by Congress for two different reasons. WWP strongly believes that collecting both benefits should never be considered “double dipping,” and no retiree should be subject to the offset. For this reason, WWP will continue to support legislation to eliminate the offset for ALL retirees and considers the Major Richard Star Act one step towards achieving that goal.
