Pasco Reporter

Congressman Gus Bilirakis is spearheading efforts to advance the Major Richard Star Act, a piece of veteran legislation he co-authored with Representative Raul Ruiz. The act has gained substantial bipartisan backing, with 326 cosponsors in the House and 73 in the Senate. This legislation aims to address the issue of concurrent receipt for over 50,000 medically retired combat veterans.

A letter advocating for the bill was sent to House leadership by Bilirakis and signed by 65 lawmakers from both parties. The letter stated: “We write to express our strong support of H.R.1282, the Major Richard Star Act, and ask for its swift consideration on the floor of the House of Representatives. This bill would repeal the unfair offset of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) retirement benefits and VA disability compensation and provide full concurrent receipt for these veterans who retired with less than 20 years of service…Congress has enacted legislation to progressively provide relief for this unfair offset between military retired pay and disability compensation, including in 2004, when Congress implemented concurrent receipt for veterans who served over 20 years and had at least a 50 percent disability rating. However, many veterans remain penalized under the status quo…The Major Richard Star Act has the momentum and support necessary to carry it quickly through both chambers in Congress and to the President to be signed into law. Given its substantial support in Congress and true bipartisan nature, we respectfully urge you to consider this bill under suspension of the rules at your earliest opportunity.”

The act has received endorsements from over 23 major Veteran Service Organizations.