Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) recently introduced a bill that seeks to offer bolstered support to combat-wounded veterans.
The Major Richard Star Act would allow veterans wounded in combat with less than 20 years of service to receive disability payments and military retirement payments in full.
Currently, only military veterans who retire after 20 years of service and are over 50 percent disabled may receive full payment of both Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments and Department of Defense (DoD) retirement funds.
“Our veterans make tremendous sacrifices to protect this great nation,” Hoeven said. “This legislation cuts red tape and would ensure that veterans who have been injured in combat receive the full benefits they rightly deserve.”
The bill would benefit approximately 42,000 combat-disabled veterans who have not served a full 20 years and were forced to retire early due to their disability.