House Forces Vote on Major Richard Star Act

Rep. Mark Takano's discharge petition bypasses House leadership to bring a bill ending the wounded veteran tax to the floor.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Military

House Forces Vote on Major Richard Star Act

Live Poll

Should combat-wounded veterans be allowed to receive both full retirement pay and disability benefits?

Rep. Mark Takano, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, used a discharge petition to place the Major Richard Star Act on the House calendar. The House speaker must schedule a full chamber vote within two legislative days.

Why it matters

The bill would end the so-called wounded veteran tax, which requires combat-wounded veterans to forfeit part of their retirement pension when also receiving VA disability compensation. The discharge petition moves the measure forward without Republican gatekeepers, and any bill not passed by both chambers dies when the 119th Congress adjourns.

The discharge petition reached 218 signatures, with 213 Democrats and 5 Republicans signing, after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., provided the final signature in September. The bill's projected cost exceeds $10 billion over the next decade, and its final House vote outcome remains unknown.

The players

Mark Takano

Takano is the top-ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and a longtime advocate for veterans' benefits.

Nancy Mace

Mace is a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina whose signature supplied the final number needed for the discharge petition.

Richard Blumenthal

Blumenthal is a Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut who sponsors the Senate version of the bill.

The details

Takano triggered a rule placing House Resolution 1247 directly on the House calendar, initiating a countdown for the House speaker to schedule a full chamber vote. The Major Richard Star Act would allow medically retired veterans to receive full retirement pension and VA disability compensation at the same time.

September 2026: Rep. Nancy Mace provided the final discharge petition signature.
Monday, November 9, 2026: Takano triggered the discharge petition on the House floor.
Within two legislative days: The House speaker must schedule the motion vote.
January 2027: The 119th Congress adjourns and any unpassed bills die.

Legal Context

The bill targets the concurrent receipt restrictions that limit how combat-wounded veterans collect military retirement pay alongside VA disability compensation. Its path mirrors earlier fights over these offsets, which Senate Republicans have blocked on cost grounds.

If enacted, roughly 60,000 combat-wounded veterans could collect full military retirement pay alongside full VA disability compensation. The change would end a reduction in retirement pension that currently applies to those veterans.

The takeaway

Watch whether the House vote happens within the two-day window and whether the Senate takes up its version before the 119th Congress ends. Veterans affected by the offset should check how the bill would change their retirement and disability payments.

What happens next

The House speaker must schedule the full chamber vote within two legislative days of Takano's motion, and any version not passed by both chambers expires when the 119th Congress adjourns in January 2027.