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Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I chair the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and my colleague, the ranking member of that committee, Senator Blumenthal was just here on the Senate floor discussing the importance of the Major Richard Star Act. That bill is not in the jurisdiction, at least at this point, of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It is a matter for the Armed Services Committee. But it is one that is important to veterans across the country.

The issue behind the Richard Star Act is hugely important to veterans across the country. We saw that today with the joint hearings that we have annually with the House Veterans' Committee.

The VFW and other veterans service organizations highly prioritize the Richard Star Act's passage. That act--this legislation--would make certain that veterans who are medically retired due to combat or combat-related injuries would receive their earned VA disability compensation and their full retirement pay without one payment being reduced because of the other. So, today, there is an offset. The Richard Star Act would eliminate that offset.

No veteran, in my mind, should have their retirement that they earned decreased because they also were eligible for disability compensation due to an injury that they sustained during their military service. So you earn your retirement by years of service, but then that is diminished if you have a disability as a result of the service.

While the Richard Star Act, as I indicated, is not within the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I want to make clear that I will continue to work with my colleagues in a bicommittee, a bicameral, and a bipartisan way to make certain we find a path forward for the passage of this legislation.

The VFW, as I said, just completed their testimony before our joint committee, and their advocacy and that of other veterans service organizations have prioritized this piece of legislation for years.

It is widely sponsored by Members of the U.S. Senate, but we have been at this for about 5 years. And while the vast majority of Senators support the bill, as evidenced by their sponsorship of the bill, it has not been considered in a legislative manner sufficient for it to have moved forward.

I am an original cosponsor of this legislation, and I want to make certain that combat-injured veterans receive their full benefits. They upheld their oath. They fulfilled their duty, and the question before us is whether we will fulfill ours.

I am committed to continuing to work closely with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee and with Senators from both sides of the aisle to find a responsible path forward and a solution that ultimately leads to the passage of the Major Richard Star Act in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, and eventually for it to make its way to the President's desk to become law.

Our Nation's combat-wounded veterans--and we say this particularly at this point in time, with what is going on in the world, with men and women from the United States in harm's way. Our Nation's combat-wounded veterans should not have to continue fighting for benefits they already earned, and it is time for Congress to act.

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