HR 105 (LSB 5026HH (3) 91)

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 105

BY  CROKEN, WICHTENDAHL, and AMOS JR.

A Resolution urging the members of Congress to support the Major Richard Star Act to allow medically retired service members to receive full access to their much-deserved retirement pay and benefits.

   WHEREAS, Major Richard Star was an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who, after exposure to burn pits during his service, received a diagnosis of lung cancer; and
   WHEREAS, due to his diagnosis, Major Richard Star was forced to retire before completing 20 years of service and was therefore unable to collect his retirement and disability benefits; and
   WHEREAS, for every dollar of disability pay they receive, veterans with less than 20 years of service and a disability rating of less than 50 percent will have their retirement pay reduced by a dollar; and
   WHEREAS, an estimated 50,000 retired service members are ineligible for concurrent benefits under the current rules; and
   WHEREAS, according to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2022, the average offset was approximately $1,900 a month; and
   WHEREAS, the Major Richard Star Act would remove these restrictions and ensure that all service members who have medically retired can receive full access to retirement pay and department of veterans affairs disability benefits; and
   WHEREAS, after dying from his battle with lung cancer in 2021, Major Richard Star’s widow claimed that his greatest goal was to get legislation passed providing for the removal of these restrictions; and
   WHEREAS, the United States owes these benefits to its veterans regardless of the cost associated with their allocation; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives urges the Congress of the United States to support the Major Richard Star Act to allow medically retired service members to receive full access to their much-deserved retirement and pay benefits; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives call upon our colleagues in the Senate to urge the Congress of the United States to support the Major Richard Star Act; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of this resolution, the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation.