House Passes Richard Star Act 392-18 to End 'Wounded Veteran Tax'

The House voted 392-18 on Thursday to pass the Major Richard Star Act, a bill that would let combat-wounded veterans who were medically retired keep both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation, according to the House Clerk’s roll call and Stars and Stripes.

The bill would end a mandatory reduction in retirement pay for combat-injured veterans with fewer than 20 years of service who also receive VA disability compensation, Stars and Stripes reported. Veterans groups and lawmakers have long called that offset the “wounded veteran tax.”

Before Major Richard Star passed away, I promised him I would never stop fighting to end the wounded Veteran tax. House passage of my bipartisan Major Richard Star Act and the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act brings us one step closer to fulfilling that promise.… pic.twitter.com/kKWW87iIBt

— Gus Bilirakis (@RepGusBilirakis) November 12, 2026

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who first introduced the bill in 2020, said in a post on X that he had promised Major Star “I would never stop fighting to end the wounded Veteran tax.” “Combat-injured Veterans deserve both the military retirement pay and VA disability compensation they earned,” Bilirakis wrote.

Who benefits and what it costs

About 58,000 combat-injured veterans who were medically retired with fewer than 20 years of service would see their combined pay rise by an average of $1,450 a month if the bill becomes law, the Congressional Budget Office estimated, according to Military.com. Over 10 years, the bill is projected to cost $12.75 billion, Military.com reported.

The bill does not raise disability ratings or apply to every disabled veteran, according to Military.com. Nothing changes for veterans yet; the Senate must act and the president must sign a bill, the outlet reported.

How the vote broke down

Republicans cast 181 votes for the bill and 18 against, while 210 Democrats and one independent voted yes, according to the House Clerk. Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost all voted yes, Military.com reported.

Republicans voting no included Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Chip Roy of Texas and Tom McClintock of California, according to Military.com.

The bill reached the floor through a discharge petition. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., provided the 218th signature in September, according to a statement from House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Democrats. “They earned every dollar and should NEVER have to choose between the two,” Mace said in a post on X after the vote.

A fight over how to pay for it

The vote came one day after the House adopted, by voice vote, the Republican-backed Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, which folds a modified version of the Star Act into a broader veterans package, Stars and Stripes reported. That package would cut future benefits for tinnitus and sleep apnea to cover the cost, according to Stars and Stripes.

Republicans and Democrats agree broadly on the benefit but disagree over how to fund it, Stars and Stripes reported. Bilirakis said on X that he “will continue advocating for a better funding approach as the Senate considers these measures.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars praised the House vote and urged senators not to accept what it called the “imposter version” of the bill in the Republican package, according to a VFW statement.

Next stop: the Senate

Senators now have two House-passed versions of the same benefit, according to Military.com. Republican senators have blocked the standalone bill six times, and any bill that has not cleared both chambers when this Congress ends Jan. 3 must start over, Military.com reported.

Major Richard Star, an Army combat engineer, was medically retired after developing terminal cancer linked to burn pit exposure during a Middle East deployment and died Feb. 13, 2021, at age 51, according to Stars and Stripes.

Sources

• Rep. Gus Bilirakis on X
• Rep. Nancy Mace on X
• Stars and Stripes
• Military.com (via Yahoo News)
• Office of the Clerk, U.S. House, Roll Call 323
• House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Democrats
• Veterans of Foreign Wars

Reporting by Daily Beltway.