2026 -- S 2754

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

URGING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO ENACT THE MAJOR RICHARD

STAR ACT

     Introduced By: Senators Ciccone, Felag, Tikoian, and Gallo

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2026

     Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

     WHEREAS, Major Richard Star was an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who, after

exposure to burn pits during his service, received a diagnosis of lung cancer; and

     WHEREAS, Due to his diagnosis, Major Richard Star was forced to retire before

completing twenty (20) years of service and was therefore unable to collect his retirement and

disability benefits; and

     WHEREAS, For every dollar of disability pay they receive, veterans with less than

twenty (20) years of service and a disability rating of less than fifty percent (50%) will have their

retirement pay reduced by a "dollar for dollar" offset; and

     WHEREAS, An estimated fifty thousand (50,000) retired service members are ineligible

for concurrent benefits under the current rules; and

     WHEREAS, According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2022, the average offset

was approximately one thousand, nine hundred dollars ($1,900) a month; and

     WHEREAS, The Major Richard Star Act would remove these restrictions and ensure that

all service members who have medically retired can receive full access to retirement pay and

Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits; and

     WHEREAS, After dying from his battle with lung cancer in 2021, Major Richard Star's

widow claimed that his greatest goal was to get legislation passed providing for the removal of

these restrictions; and

     WHEREAS, The United States owes these benefits to its veterans regardless of the cost

associated with their allocation; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island urges the Congress of the

United States to enact the Major Richard Star Act, (H.R. 2102 and S. 1032), to allow all

medically retired service members to receive full access to their much-deserved retirement pay

and benefits; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is directed to transmit duly

certified copies of this resolution to the members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation.

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