Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pledged his support for the Richard Star Act, which would allow combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of service to receive their full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation concurrently. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it clear at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday that he supports a bill to end the so-called “wounded warrior tax” that subtracts a combat-injured veteran’s retirement pay, dollar-for-dollar, based on disability compensation received.
Hegseth was testifying on the Defense Department’s $1.5 trillion spending plan for fiscal 2027 and on the war in Iran.
“As I have said in the past to other organizations, we support the Richard Star Act,” Hegseth said, in response to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D.-Conn., who asked the defense secretary for his support for the Major Richard Star Act.
An estimated 54,000 combat-injured veterans who were medically retired before completing 20 years of service would benefit from the bill, according to supporters.
Blumenthal warned at the hearing that service members in the U.S. conflict in Iran who have to leave service early because of injuries will have their retirement pay “docked dollar for dollar for every disability benefit dollar they receive.”
Under current regulations, only veterans with disability ratings above 50% and more than 20 years of service are eligible to receive their full Defense Department retirement pay plus disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Richard Star Act has broad support, collecting 79 co-sponsors in the Senate and 323 co-sponsors in the House.
But it was blocked twice recently by Senate Republican leaders over costs, when Blumenthal tried to bring the bill to a vote by the full chamber.
Blumenthal is the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Star was an Army combat engineer who died in 2021 from cancer linked to burn pit exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He was an advocate for veterans medically retired from combat injuries and forced to offset their retirement pay with VA disability benefits, according to Disabled American Veterans.
More than 50 military spouses are headed to Capitol Hill on May 7 for a day of advocacy to push for passage of legislation that would expand their access to capital and resources from the Small Business Administration.
The Military Spouse Small Business Recognition Act, which is supported by the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce, would bring formal recognition to small businesses owned and operated by military spouses.
“PCS moves. Career gaps. Limited access to capital. If you’re a military spouse running a business, you already know the challenges — and the data backs it up,” the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce posted to LinkedIn in April. “Military spouses face the highest unemployment rate of any group in the country (approximately 22%), and one of the biggest barriers to entrepreneurship is access to funding.”
The mission of the chamber is to ensure that active-duty, veteran and military-spouse business owners “have the tools and resources they need to strengthen their families, communities and our economy.”
Sailors in a motor launch rescue a survivor from the water alongside the sunken USS West Virginia during or shortly after the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy/National Archives)
Paul Newton and Wayne Newton — second cousins from Indiana killed during the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941 — will be buried with full military honors in May.
Both men were positively identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which helps to recover and account for fallen service members from past conflicts.
Both men were identified through modern forensic technology.
Paul Newton and Wayne Newton were sailors who served as seamen 1st class aboard different Navy battleships, according to the DPAA.
Paul Newton will be buried with full military honors in May. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
Paul E. Newton served on the USS West Virginia.
“He was lost when the West Virginia was sunk by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941. Newton’s remains were recovered during salvage operations after the battle, but they were unable to be individually identified,” according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
He was accounted for on Sept. 30, 2024, according to the DPAA.
Paul Newton will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, on May 11.
Wayne Newton will be buried with full military honors in May. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
Wayne E. Newton was serving aboard the USS California.
“The ship was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when a Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched a surprise attack on the Navy base and ships at Pearl Harbor,” according to the DPAA.
He was accounted for on May 13, 2025. Burial will be on May 16 at Grandview Cemetery in Terre Haute, Ind.
The USS California is shown on Dec. 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor, after being hit by Japanese aerial torpedoes and bombs. (U.S. Navy/National Archives)
Doug Collins, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, told Senate lawmakers this week that the agency is recruiting and hiring staff at health care facilities nationwide.
Collins said the agency is strategically hiring and does not have a hiring freeze in place.
Collins told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday that the VA is “actively recruiting hundreds of people at every one of our hospitals.”
The agency also is trying to reduce the time it takes to onboard a new employee.
Some Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about staff shortages at VA health facilities after the agency reduced its staff in 2025, as President Donald Trump directed a downsizing of the government workforce.
The VA also has struggled with recruiting amid a national shortage of doctors, nurses and other health care personnel that affects the public and private sector.
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, covering primary care and specialties.
Blue Star Families has opened a new location in Hampton Roads, Va., which the organization said is home to one of the largest concentrations of active-duty military personnel in the world.
Twenty percent of the general population in Hampton Roads is military-connected, and there are more than 118,000 military dependents in the region, according to Blue Star Families.
The Hampton Roads location is the 14th Blue Star Families chapter.
“In one of the nation’s most concentrated military communities, the need for connection and support is clear and urgent,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, chief executive officer of the organization.
Blue Star Families represents active duty military members and individuals transitioning to civilian life.
