The final day of Marine Corps veteran Jamel Daniels’ eight-month tour in Iraq ended when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while on patrol. Three Marines died; Daniels lost his leg and faced 16 months of rehab before a 2006 medical retirement.

He joined fellow combat-injured veterans, legislators, and representatives from MOAA and other veterans advocacy groups May 21 on Capitol Hill to continue work aimed at ending an unjust offset faced by Daniels and tens of thousands of fellow veterans – those who are forced to give up a dollar of their earned retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability pay received.

The fix: The Major Richard Star Act, a bipartisan bill with more than 340 cosponsors. Despite similar levels of support in previous congressional sessions, the bill has yet to cross the finish line, either as a standalone measure or as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Wounded Warrior Project organized the Capitol Hill event as part of a renewed push on behalf of not just combat-injured warriors, but for the strength of the future force.

“Every one of the 54,000-plus veterans who would be impacted by this bill has a similar story,” Daniels told the group. “We don’t think too much about what can happen to us, but we do know … that our country promised to take care of us.”

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Support Combat-Injured Veterans]

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who introduced his chamber’s version of the legislation in March and serves as the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, pledged to bring the bill up as an amendment to this year’s NDAA. He said the bill had “increasing, powerful momentum” going into this session, and he urged his colleagues to show true support for veterans and those in uniform by finally putting it on the president’s desk.

“For all the politicians … the rhetoric is fine, the words are good. Let’s honor them with action,” Blumenthal said.

Financial concerns have driven the delay in the bill’s passage, but multiple speakers at the May 21 event pointed to the projected price tag – less than $1 billion a year over a 10-year projection – as a small fraction of defense spending, which is expected to top $1 trillion with this year’s budget.

“This is not about ‘finding the money’ – this is about a long-overdue fix to an unfair financial burden faced by those who’ve served and sacrificed,” said Jeff Goldberg, MOAA’s director of Government Relations for Veteran and Retired Affairs. “These veterans, and their families, deserve their full compensation, from both DoD and the VA, regardless of other budget considerations.”

Marine veteran Jamel Daniels speaks at a May 21 event in Washington, D.C., supporting the Major Richard Star Act.

Honoring Its Namesake

Maj. Richard Star, USAR, lobbied for the passage of the bill bearing his name while suffering from the effects of lung cancer. His illness, connected to environmental hazards faced during combat deployments, forced him into early retirement. He passed away in 2021; his wife, Tonya, continued his fight until her death in 2024.

“We need to do this for Rich, we need to do this for Tonya, and we need to do this for 54,000 other wounded veterans who were forced into retirement, and their spouses and families, because they’re impacted, too,” said Jack Du Teil, president of The Military Coalition, a group of advocacy organizations (including MOAA) which represents nearly 5.5 million members of the wider uniformed services community.

“Tonya Star had to quit working to take care of Rich in the last year of his life. And until the very last month of his life, she didn’t even qualify for the existing caregiver benefits. … It’s a greater impact than a lot of people think.”

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Daniels said the additional income would be “the difference between suffering and stability” for some wounded warriors. He also highlighted the importance of passing the legislation in the eyes of new, and prospective, members of the all-volunteer force.

“We need to show them that if something does happen to them in the line of duty, our country will be there to support them and treat them fairly,” he said.

“To the members of Congress, I say, what are you waiting for? The injustice is right there in front of you. How many more have to suffer? We don’t have time for more speeches. Pass the Major Richard Star Act now.”