ROA joined Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and the Veterans Justice Alliance at a press conference on April 15, 2026, in the House Triangle calling on Congress to pass the Major Richard Star Act.
ROA was represented by Matthew Schwartzman, Director of Legislation and Military Policy, who urged Members to fund the bill through any of the upcoming defense appropriations measures and to take care of America’s combat-injured.
About the bill. The Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102 / S. 1032) would eliminate the unjust policy that forces combat-injured medical retirees with fewer than 20 years of service to forfeit a portion of their earned military retirement pay to receive their VA disability compensation. The bill is named for Army Maj. Richard Star, who was medically retired due to combat-related injuries and lost his battle with cancer in 2021. Roughly 54,000 combat-wounded veterans stand to benefit, and the bill carries broad bipartisan support, with over 300 House cosponsors and nearly 80 Senate cosponsors.
ROA has been active in advancing the Star Act through its long-standing engagement with The Military Coalition, its participation in the Star Act Alliance, and now its work alongside the Veterans Justice Alliance — a unified, cross-coalition front of military, veteran, and family advocates pressing for enactment.
ROA’s Remarks. Speaking on behalf of ROA, Schwartzman framed the bill against the backdrop of the nation’s renewed combat operations and cast it as a test of national commitment.
“With American forces once again in combat, families across this country are asking a simple question: if our sons and daughters are wounded, will the nation take care of them? The Major Richard Star Act is a test of whether this country keeps its word. Tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans are penalized because their injuries ended their careers before 20 years — forced to choose between retirement pay and disability compensation, two benefits earned for two different reasons. That is not a benefit. That is a penalty.”
Schwartzman then drew attention to ROA’s parallel campaign to preserve Army Reserve MEDEVAC capability, which the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) has placed at risk: “The Star Act isn’t the only place we’re sending the wrong signal. The Army is the Joint Force lead for MEDEVAC and the only service with organic MEDEVAC capability at scale — most of it in the Army Reserve. Walking away from that mission does not reassure families, and it does not reflect a nation committed to caring for its wounded.”
He closed with a direct call to action: “Passing the Major Richard Star Act and preserving Army Reserve MEDEVAC are two concrete steps Congress can take right now. Together, they tell the American people that this country does not ask for sacrifice lightly — and does not abandon those who pay the price.”
ROA’s FY 2027 NDAA and Defense Appropriations statements both call for a clear and enforceable prohibition on any divestiture, transfer, or inactivation of dedicated Army Reserve MEDEVAC capability. ROA will continue to press Congress to fund the Major Richard Star Act and preserve Army Reserve MEDEVAC platforms and personnel as part of a unified commitment to America’s combat-injured.