Thousands of American military veterans who were forced into early retirement because of combat-related injuries could receive substantial increases in their federal retirement compensation following a decisive vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, advancing legislation intended to eliminate a longstanding reduction in benefits for disabled military retirees. The measure could have significant financial consequences for qualifying veterans throughout Oregon, including those living in Grants Pass, Medford, Roseburg, Klamath Falls and surrounding Southern Oregon communities.
The House approved H.R. 2102, the Major Richard Star Act, on Thursday, November 12, by a vote of 392 to 18, delivering overwhelming bipartisan support for legislation that would allow approximately 59,000 combat-injured military retirees nationwide to collect their eligible military retirement pay without reductions tied to their Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation.
Oregon Congressman Cliff Bentz voted in favor of the legislation and announced his support Friday, November 13, one day after the House vote and two days after Veterans Day. Bentz represents Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which encompasses much of Southern and Eastern Oregon, including communities with substantial military veteran populations.
“We must support those who sustain lifelong injuries in the defense of our people and our nation. This bill does exactly that,” Bentz stated.
The legislation addresses a federal retirement policy that has financially affected certain service members whose military careers ended prematurely because of combat-related disabilities. Under existing law, veterans who are medically retired before completing 20 years of qualifying service can experience dollar-for-dollar reductions in their military retirement payments when receiving VA disability compensation.
The reduction has remained a central issue in federal veterans’ benefits policy for years, particularly among service members whose combat injuries prevented them from completing the military careers they had intended to pursue.
The Major Richard Star Act would eliminate the targeted reduction for eligible combat-disabled military retirees, allowing them to receive both benefits without the existing offset. The legislation would apply to qualifying retirees from the armed forces, including those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.
The financial implications are considerable. Congressional Budget Office estimates indicate that eligible veterans could receive an average increase of approximately $1,450 per month in combined compensation, equivalent to $17,400 annually. Actual increases would vary according to individual retirement calculations, disability determinations and existing compensation arrangements.
Federal financial analysis conducted using Department of Defense retirement information found that affected military retirees had an average monthly retirement offset of approximately $2,275, while receiving an average of $825 through Combat-Related Special Compensation. Eliminating the applicable reduction would substantially increase the amount of retirement compensation available to those veterans.
For qualifying veterans in Southern Oregon, the additional income could represent a meaningful increase in household finances, particularly among retirees who rely on federal disability and retirement payments for housing, utilities, transportation, medical expenses and other necessities.
Oregon has approximately 260,000 military veterans, according to state veterans’ population figures, with a substantial majority having served during wartime periods. Federal veterans’ expenditures throughout the state totaled nearly $4.2 billion during fiscal year 2024, reflecting the considerable role military benefits play in Oregon’s economy.
Although a precise statewide estimate of veterans eligible under the Major Richard Star Act has not been established, qualifying military retirees living in Josephine, Jackson, Douglas and Klamath counties would fall under the same federal eligibility provisions as veterans elsewhere in the country.
The legislation is particularly relevant to combat-injured veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and earlier military operations before receiving medical retirements. Eligibility would depend on military disability retirement status and qualifying combat-related disability determinations, rather than military service or a VA disability rating alone.
Existing federal programs already allow certain military retirees to receive retirement and disability compensation simultaneously. Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay generally provides that opportunity to qualifying retirees with at least 20 years of service and VA disability ratings of 50 percent or higher.
Combat-Related Special Compensation provides separate tax-free compensation to eligible retirees with qualifying combat-related disabilities. However, medically retired veterans with fewer than 20 years of service remain subject to limitations that can prevent them from receiving their full military retirement entitlements.
The House-approved legislation concentrates on removing those limitations for qualifying combat-disabled retirees.
The measure underwent substantial revisions during congressional consideration. An earlier version proposed broader changes to military retirement and disability compensation, extending potential eligibility to additional categories of medically retired veterans. Those provisions were narrowed before final House passage, substantially reducing the estimated federal cost.
The Congressional Budget Office initially projected that the broader legislation would increase direct federal spending by approximately $78.1 billion over the 2026 through 2036 period. The revised measure carries an estimated $12.75 billion increase in direct spending over fiscal years 2027 through 2036.
The revised financial projection reflects a more limited group of eligible veterans while preserving the legislation’s central objective of restoring retirement compensation to qualifying combat-injured service members.
The proposed increase in federal spending has been part of the congressional debate surrounding the measure. Supporters have maintained that military retirement compensation and VA disability benefits serve separate purposes and should not be reduced against one another for veterans whose combat-related injuries ended their military careers.
The legislation has received support from numerous national veterans’ organizations, including Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, the Marine Corps League, Wounded Warrior Project and the Military Officers Association of America.
The bill honors U.S. Army Reserve Major Richard Star, a combat engineer and veteran who advocated for correcting the military retirement offset while battling cancer. Star died in February 2021 at age 51, before the legislation bearing his name reached a successful House vote.
The effort to change the retirement policy has continued through multiple congressional sessions, accumulating bipartisan support while encountering legislative obstacles involving federal spending, budget priorities and congressional scheduling.
The House vote followed an extended effort to bring the legislation before the full chamber. A discharge petition filed earlier in 2026 eventually secured the signatures necessary to advance consideration, culminating in Thursday’s recorded vote.
For Bentz, the measure represents a federal veterans’ benefits issue with direct relevance to his congressional district. Southern Oregon includes military retirees, disabled veterans and former service members whose retirement circumstances vary considerably depending on their years of service, military discharge classifications and disability determinations.
Bentz’s affirmative vote places him among the 392 House members supporting the legislation’s passage, an unusually large majority for a measure carrying multibillion-dollar federal spending implications.
Despite the overwhelming House approval, the Major Richard Star Act has not yet become federal law. The legislation must advance through the U.S. Senate and receive presidential approval before the retirement compensation changes can take effect.
A companion measure, S. 1032, has also been introduced in the Senate, where supporters have sought action on the retirement offset. Congressional consideration will determine whether the legislation reaches the president before the conclusion of the current legislative session.
Under the House-approved measure, the applicable changes would begin on the first day of the month following enactment, rather than requiring eligible veterans to wait for a subsequent annual benefits adjustment.
For Oregon veterans who already receive Combat-Related Special Compensation or whose military disability retirement payments are reduced by VA compensation, the legislation could significantly alter their monthly federal benefits if enacted. Veterans who receive VA disability compensation but have no qualifying military retirement entitlement would not receive an increase solely because of their disability rating.
Oregon’s county veterans service offices, including those serving Josephine, Jackson, Douglas and Klamath counties, remain available to assist veterans with reviewing military retirement classifications, disability determinations and existing federal benefits.
The House vote establishes a significant legislative milestone in a campaign that has continued for more than six years. It also places the future of the proposal before the Senate, where its passage would determine whether tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans can begin receiving retirement compensation currently reduced under federal law.
For qualifying veterans across Oregon, the outcome could mean thousands of additional dollars in annual retirement income. For Congress, the remaining decision concerns whether to complete a substantial revision of military retirement policy that has affected combat-disabled service members for decades.