The Take Care of Veterans Act should be a political layup. Over 323 House members and 79 Senators support it. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backs it. Veterans organizations from the VFW to the Wounded Warrior Project have been fighting for its core provision for six years. And yet, as of this week, H.R. 9237 is sitting in committee while roughly 54,000 combat-injured Americans are still getting robbed of retirement pay they bled for.
The Wounded Veteran Tax That Congress Created and Refuses to Kill
Call it what it is. Under current law, veterans forced to medically retire due to combat or combat-related injuries cannot receive their full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation simultaneously — the government offsets their retirement pay dollar-for-dollar by whatever disability benefits they receive. In plain English: a man who lost both legs to a roadside bomb in Fallujah has to hand back part of his retirement check to collect the disability pay he earned getting blown up. For a typical medically retired enlisted veteran expecting $1,800 a month in retirement pay, that offset can wipe out nearly all of it if their disability compensation is of equivalent value — leaving some veterans with no retirement income at all. Wounded Warrior Project Veteran Life
Veterans advocates have been calling this what it is for years: a wounded veteran tax. And it stems from a 2004 policy gap — Congress eliminated the retirement/disability offset for veterans who served at least 20 years, but left out those whose careers were cut short by combat injuries. If you made it to 20 years, you’re whole. If a grenade took that option away from you at year 14, you pay the penalty. That’s the policy. That’s what 54,000 Americans are living with right now. Staractalliance
The bill that corrects this isn’t new, either. The Major Richard Star Act has bounced around Capitol Hill since 2020, accumulating cosponsors and advocacy support session after session while the veterans it’s designed to help get older, sicker, and financially squeezed. It was first introduced in February 2020. Major Richard Star, the Army combat engineer whose name the bill bears, died in 2021 — never seeing the reform he spent his final months fighting for. EIN Presswire
H.R. 9237: What the Take Care of Veterans Act Actually Does
The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act rolls more than 60 independent pieces of bipartisan legislation into a single package, negotiated by the leaders of both the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. The Major Richard Star Act is the headline provision, but this bill is considerably broader than one fix. Military.com
Here’s what’s inside:
The Major Richard Star Act ends the wounded veteran tax, allowing eligible combat-injured veterans to receive both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation concurrently. The Love Lives On Act protects survivor benefits for spouses of fallen servicemembers, allowing surviving spouses to remarry at any age without losing their Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or Survivor Benefit Plan payments. The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act delivers the first meaningful increase in compensation for severely disabled veterans and Gold Star families in decades. Congressman Richard Hudson
The package also allocates $500 million for VA information technology modernization — split between supply chain systems, cybersecurity, and digital records — and extends suicide prevention grant funding through 2029 with $200 million authorized, while creating a new mental health grant pilot program with $20 million annually for community-based providers. Govbase
Beyond direct financial benefits, H.R. 9237 targets systemic bottlenecks inside the VA, aiming to modernize scheduling systems and reduce the time veterans wait to secure an appointment. Veterans Guide
This isn’t a narrow benefit tweak. It’s the most comprehensive veterans reform package in recent memory.
Why Is the Take Care of Veterans Act Still Sitting in Committee?
That’s the question veterans groups are furious about, and the honest answer is: cost and Capitol Hill inertia.
The bill’s estimated price tag runs roughly $8 billion over 10 years — which sounds substantial until you put it in context: that represents about one-tenth of a percent of a single year’s defense budget. The bill’s supporters have been making that math argument for years. Critics in Congress keep citing fiscal responsibility while voting for budgets orders of magnitude larger without blinking. MOAA
Competing priorities across Capitol Hill and persistent myths about the Star Act have plagued efforts to move this bill across the finish line for multiple sessions of Congress. MOAA, the Military Officers Association of America, has noted that Pentagon leadership support is essential — and they now have it. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed his support for the Major Richard Star Act during a Senate hearing in May 2026, during testimony on the Defense Department’s fiscal 2027 budget. MOAAMilitary Times
The bill has 79 Senate supporters. It has 323 House cosponsors. The Chairmen of both the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees introduced it together. The Secretary of Defense endorsed it publicly. The VFW, Wounded Warrior Project, MOAA, DAV, and American Legion are all pushing hard.
And it’s still in committee.
David Star, brother of the late Major Richard Star, put it simply at an April 2026 Capitol Hill event: “My brother stood in this very spot asking for support of this bill. He passed away five years ago, and we’ve had four Congresses since then to get it done. It is time to move this bill.” Stars and Stripes
The Counterargument — and Why It Doesn’t Hold Up
Fiscal hawks have a point worth hearing. The bill is not retroactive and does not include back pay. A phase-in approach to the new rules significantly reduces the cost of implementation. Still, some members of Congress argue that $8–11 billion over a decade is a number that demands scrutiny during a period of elevated federal spending. MOAA
Here’s the problem with that position: these benefits are not new entitlements. Military retirement pay rewards years of honorable service. VA disability compensation helps cover the long-term effects of service-related injuries. They are two separate benefits created for two distinct purposes. The offset that forces veterans to surrender one to receive the other is an accounting quirk, not a principled policy. Congress already fixed it for veterans who served 20 years — they just forgot to extend the fix to veterans whose service was cut short by enemy fire. Wounded Warrior Project
Department of Defense data shows that 68% of young Americans cite concerns about injury as a reason not to enlist. If the nation cannot demonstrate that it will keep its promises to the wounded, that recruiting problem will only get worse. The cost of passing this bill is real. The cost of not passing it is harder to put in a budget line. Staractalliance
The Men and Women Waiting on Congress to Act
Army Sergeant William Brooks doesn’t need a policy brief to understand what the wounded veteran tax costs. Brooks, who uses a wheelchair after losing both legs in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq more than 20 years ago, traveled to Capitol Hill in April to make his case in person. “Leaving part of your body on the battlefield,” he said, “should not result in losing your retirement.” Stars and Stripes
That’s not a talking point. That’s math applied to a human life.
DAV life member and Purple Heart recipient Latoya Lucas says it plainly: “Every year since I retired, I see the pay that was offset when I receive my end-of-year statement from the Department of Defense. We need to fix this long-standing injustice for veterans who had their military careers cut short due to combat-related injuries like myself.” DAV
These aren’t edge cases. Advocates estimate roughly 54,000 combat-injured veterans nationwide are directly impacted by the current offset. That’s a city. That’s Yankee Stadium filled to capacity and then some. These are people who went where their country sent them, got hurt doing it, and came home to find a government that charges them for the privilege. Military.com
What the Data Shows — and What Hegseth’s Endorsement Means
The bill would end an unjust pay offset that can cost eligible veterans an average of $1,200 per month in lost retirement income. Over a year, that’s $14,400. Over a decade, it approaches six figures per veteran. For families already navigating disability, medical costs, and the transition out of military life, that is not an abstract number. MOAA
The bipartisan support is unprecedented for a standalone veterans bill. The Major Richard Star Act currently carries the endorsement of 79 Senators and 323 House members. That’s not a coalition — that’s a mandate. Add Hegseth’s public endorsement from the Pentagon podium, and the question is no longer whether Congress has the votes. It’s whether Congress has the will. Military Times
House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran introduced H.R. 9237 together with the stated goal of passing it in the coming weeks. “Coming weeks” was said in early June. The clock is ticking. House Committee on Veterans Affairs
What Happens Next — and Why the America250 Deadline Matters
Congressional advocates are positioning H.R. 9237 as a definitive statement on how the nation honors its sacred promises ahead of America250 — the nationwide commemoration of the country’s 250th anniversary. That framing matters. A country celebrating 250 years of freedom while thousands of combat-injured veterans lose retirement pay to a bureaucratic penalty is a story no one in Washington wants on the front page. Veterans Guide
That deadline creates real political pressure, and it’s the best window this bill has seen in six sessions of Congress. Committee leadership in both chambers has publicly committed to moving the legislation. The question now is whether floor leadership will schedule the vote before the America250 celebration becomes a backdrop of embarrassment rather than pride.
For veterans advocacy organizations, the ask is simple: contact your congressional representatives and demand a floor vote on H.R. 9237 now. For the 54,000 Americans waiting on that vote, simple is the only word that fits.
The Take Care of Veterans Act isn’t a new promise. It’s an old one, overdue. Congress built the wound. Congress can close it.
FAST FACTS
- H.R. 9237 consolidates more than 60 bipartisan bills into a single comprehensive veterans’ package negotiated by the leaders of both the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Military.com
- The “wounded veteran tax” forces combat-injured veterans who medically retire to forfeit a dollar of retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation they receive — in some cases eliminating their retirement income entirely. Wounded Warrior Project
- The Major Richard Star Act is named for Army Major Richard Star, a post-9/11 combat engineer who developed cancer linked to toxic burn pit exposure during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan; he passed away in 2021 before the legislation bearing his name could be passed. Staractalliance
- The bill’s estimated 10-year cost of approximately $8 billion represents roughly one-tenth of one percent of a single year’s U.S. defense budget. MOAA
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly endorsed the Major Richard Star Act in May 2026 during Senate testimony on the FY2027 defense budget. Military Times
- DoD data shows 68% of young Americans cite concerns about injury as a reason not to enlist — making the passage of the Star Act a national security issue, not just a benefits question. Staractalliance
- H.R. 9237 authorizes $200 million for veteran suicide prevention grants through 2029 and creates a new community-based mental health pilot program funded at $20 million per year. Govbase
- The Love Lives On Act provision within H.R. 9237 removes the current penalty that causes surviving spouses of fallen servicemembers to lose their DIC and Survivor Benefit Plan payments upon remarriage at any age. Congressman Richard Hudson
FAQ
Q: What is the Take Care of Veterans Act and what does it do?
A: The Take Care of Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) is a comprehensive legislative package introduced in June 2026 that rolls more than 60 bipartisan bills into one. Its centerpiece is the Major Richard Star Act, which eliminates the “wounded veteran tax” — a policy that reduces combat-injured veterans’ retirement pay dollar-for-dollar by their VA disability compensation. The bill also expands survivor benefits, modernizes the VA, and extends suicide prevention funding.
Q: What is the Major Richard Star Act and why does it matter?
A: The Major Richard Star Act fixes a 2004 policy gap that left combat-injured veterans who medically retired before 20 years of service unable to receive both their full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation simultaneously. Roughly 54,000 veterans are currently affected. The act eliminates the dollar-for-dollar offset, allowing eligible veterans to receive both earned benefits concurrently without any reduction.
Q: Why hasn’t the Major Richard Star Act passed yet if it has so much support?
A: Despite having 323 House cosponsors, 79 Senate supporters, and bipartisan committee leadership backing, the bill has stalled repeatedly due to concerns about its estimated $8–11 billion, 10-year cost. Critics argue for fiscal caution; supporters note that figure represents less than 0.1% of a single year’s defense budget, and the bill includes no retroactive back pay.
Q: Who benefits from H.R. 9237 beyond combat-injured veterans?
A: H.R. 9237 also benefits surviving spouses of fallen servicemembers, who can remarry without losing survivor benefits under the Love Lives On Act provision; severely disabled veterans and Gold Star families who receive their first meaningful benefits increase in decades; student veterans using the GI Bill online or in apprenticeships; and veterans struggling to access mental health care through expanded community-based grants.
Q: Is the wounded veteran tax the same as the concurrent receipt offset?
A: Effectively, yes. “Concurrent receipt” refers to the ability to receive both military retirement pay and VA disability compensation at the same time. Congress granted concurrent receipt to veterans with 20+ years of service and 50%+ disability ratings back in 2004 — but excluded combat-injured veterans who were medically retired before the 20-year mark. The Major Richard Star Act extends that same concurrent receipt to this excluded group.
CALL TO ACTION
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