House Resolution 105 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 105 BY CROKEN , WICHTENDAHL , and AMOS JR. A Resolution urging the members of Congress to support 1 the Major Richard Star Act to allow medically 2 retired service members to receive full access to 3 their much-deserved retirement pay and benefits. 4 WHEREAS, Major Richard Star was an Iraq and 5 Afghanistan veteran who, after exposure to burn pits 6 during his service, received a diagnosis of lung 7 cancer; and 8 WHEREAS, due to his diagnosis, Major Richard 9 Star was forced to retire before completing 20 years 10 of service and was therefore unable to collect his 11 retirement and disability benefits; and 12 WHEREAS, for every dollar of disability pay they 13 receive, veterans with less than 20 years of service 14 and a disability rating of less than 50 percent will 15 have their retirement pay reduced by a dollar; and 16 WHEREAS, an estimated 50,000 retired service members 17 are ineligible for concurrent benefits under the 18 current rules; and 19 WHEREAS, according to the Congressional Budget 20 Office, in 2022, the average offset was approximately 21 $1,900 a month; and 22 WHEREAS, the Major Richard Star Act would remove 23 these restrictions and ensure that all service members 24 who have medically retired can receive full access 25 to retirement pay and department of veterans affairs 26 disability benefits; and 27 WHEREAS, after dying from his battle with lung 28 -1- LSB 5026HH (3) 91 mb/jh 1/ 2
H.R. 105 cancer in 2021, Major Richard Star’s widow claimed 1 that his greatest goal was to get legislation passed 2 providing for the removal of these restrictions; and 3 WHEREAS, the United States owes these benefits to 4 its veterans regardless of the cost associated with 5 their allocation; NOW THEREFORE, 6 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 7 the House of Representatives urges the Congress of the 8 United States to support the Major Richard Star Act 9 to allow medically retired service members to receive 10 full access to their much-deserved retirement and pay 11 benefits; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 13 Representatives call upon our colleagues in the Senate 14 to urge the Congress of the United States to support 15 the Major Richard Star Act; and 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of 17 this resolution, the Chief Clerk of the House of 18 Representatives shall transmit copies of this 19 resolution to the President of the United States 20 Senate, the Speaker of the United States House 21 of Representatives, and each member of Iowa’s 22 congressional delegation. 23 -2- LSB 5026HH (3) 91 mb/jh 2/ 2