MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — The Richard Star Act would let combat-injured vets collect both disability and retirement pay, impacting 50,000+ veterans.
- Disabled veterans who are medically retired currently lose a portion of their retirement pay when they also receive VA disability pay — a policy some veterans call a "wounded warrior tax."
- Major David Star named the Richard Star Act after his late brother, who was medically retired six months short of qualifying for full military retirement pay.
- The legislation would allow combat-injured veterans who were medically retired to collect both VA disability pay and military retirement pay, impacting more than 50,000 veterans nationwide at an estimated cost of $78 billion over 10 years.
- The Richard Star Act has been folded into the larger "Take Care of America's Veterans Act" and continues to be reviewed by Congress.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Disabled veterans currently lose a portion of their retirement pay when they also receive disability pay — and one major is pushing Congress to change that.
Major David Star named new legislation after his late brother, who was medically retired from the military at 19.5 years of service — six months short of qualifying for full retirement pay. Star is now advocating for combat-injured veterans to receive both their VA disability pay and their military retirement pay simultaneously.
Jakob Angevine served in Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan for a total of 10 years before the Army medically retired him. While he earned disability pay, he did not qualify for military retirement pay.
"Because I was medically retired, us combat veterans, you know, with combat injuries, we were, we're not afforded the same benefits that a twenty-year retiree is," Angevine said.
Some veterans have called the current policy a "wounded warrior tax."
"There's never money to support the veterans, but there's always money to send overseas. But those of us here that have sacrificed… we're put on the back burner," Angevine said.
The Richard Star Act would allow combat-injured veterans who were medically retired to earn both their VA disability pay and their military retirement pay. The legislation would impact more than 50,000 veterans nationwide. While numbers are not finalized, sources say the bill is estimated to cost $78 billion over the next 10 years.
Major David Star said the legislation is about restoring what veterans already earned.
"In reality, this is already their earned retirement pay, and we're just restoring their their their retirement pay," David Star said.
Angevine recently started a new job. He said if he received both retirement and disability pay, it would add an extra $1,800 to his monthly budget — money he said could make a difference in his children's lives.
"Two of my kids wrestle, you know, so that money could go towards, you know, additional camps and training for them, you know, to help them pursue their goal of, uh, you know, going to college… it would make a big impact," Angevine said.
Star was at the Capitol earlier this week to push the legislation forward. The Richard Star Act has since been folded into a larger veterans bill known as the "Take Care of America's Veterans Act," where it continues to be reviewed.
More information from the House Committee of Veterans' Affairs can be found here.
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