Veterans' Pay Bill Clears Key Hurdle
PHOTO CAPTION: Maj. Richard A. Star served as deputy commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District and deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq during his military career. The Major Richard Star Act, legislation named in his honor, has now reached the 218 signatures needed to advance a House discharge petition. (U.S. Army photo by Romanda Walker)
A congressional petition aimed at forcing action on a veterans’ compensation bill has received the one signature it was missing.
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina became the 218th member of the House to sign the discharge petition for the Major Richard Star Act on Sept. 15, according to the official House Clerk roster.
That gives the petition the majority required to move to the next stage of the House discharge process.
The development comes after the petition had been sitting at 217 signatures, one short of the threshold.
Mace's signature joined those of every House Democrat and four other Republicans who had already signed: Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida.
The Major Richard Star Act would change how military retirement pay and Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation interact for certain combat-injured veterans.
Under current law, many service members who are medically retired because of combat-related disabilities before reaching 20 years of service cannot receive their full military retirement pay alongside their VA disability compensation.
The legislation would allow eligible Chapter 61 retirees with combat-related disabilities to receive both benefits concurrently, subject to the provisions in the bill.
Supporters estimate the change would affect roughly 59,000 combat-injured veterans.
But reaching 218 signatures does not mean the bill has passed.
The discharge petition is a procedural mechanism used to bypass a committee and bring legislation toward the House floor without the usual committee action.
Now that the petition has reached 218 signatures, the discharge motion is placed on the House calendar and must remain there for seven legislative days. After that period, one of the lawmakers who signed the petition can formally move to discharge the measure.
If that motion succeeds, the House would then proceed through the rule governing consideration of the Major Richard Star Act and ultimately could vote on the legislation itself.
That will not happen immediately.
The House left Washington this week and is not expected to return until after the midterm elections, meaning the discharge process is unlikely to produce floor action before November.
The legislation has substantial bipartisan cosponsorship. The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee reported this week that H.R. 2102 has 340 House cosponsors, while its Senate counterpart also has broad bipartisan sponsorship. Cosponsorship, however, is separate from passage of the bill.
The bill is named for Army Maj. Richard Star, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who was medically retired after developing lung cancer linked to his military service.
Star became an advocate for changing the retirement-pay offset after encountering it himself. He died from cancer in 2021 while the legislative effort was still underway.
The discharge petition was filed May 21 by Rep. Mark Takano of California with Rep. Raul Ruiz of California as part of an effort to bring the standalone legislation to the House floor.
Nearly four months later, it now has the 218 signatures required to move forward.
The next question is whether the House ultimately approves the discharge motion and then the Major Richard Star Act itself when lawmakers return.
(Source: OAF Nation)
