Republicans Block Blumenthal's Request for Passage of Major Richard Star Act with Defense Pay-For

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, Senate Republicans blocked a unanimous consent request by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, to pass the Major Richard Star Act. Blumenthal's proposal would have been paid-for by using $13 billion in unspent Department of Defense funds and rejects a Senate Republican proposal to pass a watered-down bill paid for by cutting disabled veterans' benefits. This is the seventh and eighth time Republicans have blocked Blumenthal's attempts to advance the Major Richard Star Act.

"Mr. President, I'm back again after Republicans have blocked my effort for a vote, a vote, on the Major Richard Star Act. Six times, Republicans have blocked benefits for combat-injured veterans," Blumenthal said on the Senate Floor.

Blumenthal underscored the need to pass the Major Richard Star Act: "Let's be clear: right now, a combat-injured veteran with less than 20 years, including at least 400 service men and women who have been injured in the Iran War, are going to be docked dollar for dollar in their retirement pay for what they receive in disability benefits. That's wrong. It is morally wrong…And, by a simple act of Congress, we can correct this injustice."

Blumenthal continued, "The cost of caring for our veterans is a cost of war, and we should be prepared to make that investment and spend that money on men and women who were promised both retirement pay and disability benefits. We made that promise to them. A great nation keeps its promises, especially to our bravest and boldest."

Blumenthal rejected Republicans' proposal to pay for the Major Richard Star Act by cutting $60 billion in disabled veterans' benefits, instead proposing to offset the $13 billion in unspent Department of Defense funds: "The Department of Defense is awash in money, and a lot of it is going to programs that are wasteful, will never see the light of day, and are completely unnecessary to our national defense. So, let's talk about an offset…In the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as H.R. 1, there are billions and billions of dollars, and $111 billion of it is unspent. In fact, it's not only unspent, it's unobligated."

"What veterans deserve is the Major Richard Star Act. And my hope is that we can break through this logjam and that today my Republican colleagues will not object and do right by our nation's veterans," Blumenthal concluded.

Last week, Republicans introduced a 553-page veterans bill that includes a provision to pay for the Major Richard Star Act and other legislation by cutting $60 billion in benefits for more than 1.4 million disabled veterans. Leading veterans' groups, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) have also opposed the Republican proposal.

The Major Richard Star Act is bipartisan legislation to fix an injustice preventing combat-injured veterans from receiving their full military benefits. Currently, only veterans with disability ratings above 50 percent and more than 20 years of service are eligible to receive the full amount of their DoD retirement and VA disability payments-leaving behind more than 50,000 combat-injured military retirees.

This legislation has overwhelming support from the majority of both chambers of Congress, with 79 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and 336 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also pledged the Department's support for the Major Richard Star Act in April, following pressure from Blumenthal. Senate Republican leadership has blocked six attempts from Blumenthal, including in October, March, and two weeks ago, to advance or vote on this overwhelming bipartisan support.

A video of Blumenthal's floor speech is available here. A transcript of Blumenthal's remarks is below.

U.S. Senator Blumenthal (D-CT): Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I'm back, again, after Republicans have blocked my effort for a vote, a vote, on the Major Richard Star Act. Six times, Republicans have blocked benefits for combat-injured veterans. Let's be very clear: right now, a combat-injured veteran with less than 20 years, including at least 400 service men and women who have been injured in the Iran War, are going to be docked dollar for dollar in their retirement pay for what they receive in disability benefits. That's wrong. It is morally wrong. It's legally wrong. It's politically wrong. And, by a simple act of Congress, we can correct this injustice.

The Major Richard Star Act will cost about $9 billion over ten years. We've worked to reduce the amount of funding necessary from 13 billion, but Republicans are saying that there needs to be a subtraction from another program, what's called an offset or a pay-for, so that there's no additional spending on those veterans who have been combat-injured and are reduced in their retirement pay, dollar for dollar, when they receive disability benefits for that combat injury. The combat injury forces them to retire with less than 20 years, and then they're docked dollar for dollar for their retirement pay as a result of the disability pay. They've earned both. They deserve both. I could end there in arguing for the Major Richard Star Act, and, in fact, this idea of a pay-for, how absurd. How unfair.

The cost of caring for our veterans is a cost of war, and we should be prepared to make that investment and spend that money on men and women who were promised both retirement pay and disability benefits. We made that promise to them. A great nation keeps its promises, especially to our bravest and boldest. Now, there should be no need for an offset, but I'm willing to take their argument and do my best with it because if there needs to be an offset, I've worked hard to find one. And, in fact, I offered it in the Armed Services Committee as an amendment just days ago. What was the result? My amendment was ruled out of order. Why? Maybe we'll find out some time, but the fact of the matter is I have an offset, and I want to tell the members of this body how we can find $9 billion in a $1.1 trillion defense budget.

To the people of the United States of America, the Armed Services Committee approved a National Defense Authorization Act with, yes, $1.1 trillion. That's about a 30 percent or more increase over last year. The Department of Defense is awash in money, and a lot of it is going to programs that are wasteful, will never see the light of day, and are completely unnecessary to our national defense.

So, let's talk about an offset. Let's take the high figure, $13 billion, the maximalist figure. Funding needed for the Major Richard Star Act, in the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as H.R. 1, there are billions and billions of dollars, and $111 billion of it is unspent. In fact, it's not only unspent, it's unobligated. That is to say, if you want to talk legalese, there isn't a contract to spend it. There isn't a commitment to allocate it to a contractor or a member of the military. $111 billion. There is no feasible way that the United States Department of Defense, call it the Department of War, can allocate or obligate that money before the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30 of 2026. There's just no way that the Department of Defense can obligate all of that money before the end of the fiscal year for which it is appropriated, under that Great, Big Beautiful Bill.

I propose taking 13 billion of it and making it available to the Department of Defense, which has responsibility. It has the obligation to pay retirement and disability compensation, to pay retirement compensation. And so to make the Department of Defense whole, to offset the additional money for retirement pay, let's take a DoD program that will, in effect, involve unobligated and unspent money. I'm willing to make the concession that we need to find an offset, even though it offends me deeply, to correct an injustice by saying we have to take the money from another Department of Defense program. But I would rather take this money from a Department of Defense program than do what Republicans are suggesting we do as an alternative.

In fact, they have a bill which they have called the Take Care of America's Veterans Act. They take care of American veterans to correct the Richard Star injustice by cutting an unprecedented amount of disability benefits for more than 1.4 million veterans. It's a 550-page bill, written by Republicans behind closed doors, with provisions that still have not been fully made available, even though the bill was announced last week, on a Thursday, before we all left for home. And, essentially, it waters down, or reduces, or eliminates, benefits for veterans who suffer from sleep apnea or tinnitus. That's millions of veterans. It takes away their benefits. It robs them of benefits that they are entitled to receive.

Now, I think that solution is deeply unfair and profoundly unnecessary, and my view is supported by members of the veterans' community, the veterans service organizations that have weighed in against that supposed solution. The VFW national commander, Carol Whitmore said, quote, the Veterans of Foreign Wars strongly opposes the Take Care of America's Veterans Act because it asks future disabled veterans to bear the cost of expanding benefits through changing the V.A. rating Schedule for tinnitus and obstructive sleep apnea. Common conditions associated with polytrauma.

I think this point is very important. This bill, the Major Richard Star Act, is a standalone bill to do justice, and the Republican solution is to take away benefits from veterans who have suffered combat injuries that those benefits are designed to address. The DAV National Commander, Coleman Nee said, we reject the premise that the only way to fulfill the promises made to the men and women who served in the past is by cutting benefits for veterans in the future. And IAVA CEO, Dr. Kyleanne Hunter said, veterans disability compensation is not a budgetary offset. These organizations, the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of America have all opposed the Take Care of American Veterans Act for this same reason. And as Dr. Hunter said, it is compensation for injuries and illnesses and conditions incurred through military service. Of particular concern are proposals that target veterans living with service-connected with service-connected tinnitus and sleep apnea.

There is a way around the demand for the offset that takes money from the Department of Defense, unobligated funds, money that will not be spent, not taking away from disabled veterans, and as a matter of principle, taking money from veterans to pay for a Department of Defense or Department of War program is a profoundly dangerous way to set a precedent and a pay-for.

And that's the reason the Secretary of War himself, Secretary Hegseth, said he supports the Major Richard Star Act without an offset.

Large bipartisan majorities in the senate -- we have 80 cosponsors here -- in the house, 336 cosponsors, support the Major Richard Star Act without an offset. And that's the reason why, as recently as yesterday, a senior Department of Defense official told stakeholders that the Department of War will support the Major Richard Star Act without an offset. Veterans deserve better than the Republican proposal, and they deserve better than the rule that Secretary Collins apparently is talking about issuing. He hasn't issued it yet. He hasn't formally proposed it. There's no comment period. But my Republican colleagues say, he's going to issue it. Therefore, we should use it to make these savings. Well, he should not issue it. He should not eliminate benefits for sleep apnea and tinnitus, and if he does it, he will have betrayed those veterans who lose those benefits.

My position has been consistent -- I opposed President Biden and his administration when they had a similar proposal in 2022, and you know what happened? They withdrew it. Because the hue and cry from the veterans' community was so loud, the firestorm was so hot, they had no alternative. And I ask the veterans of America to once again make their voices heard against an injustice. No more than the Biden administration should this administration adopt such a misguided, unfair, unjust policy. What veterans deserve is the Major Richard Star Act. And my hope is that we can break through this logjam and that today, my Republican colleagues will not object and do right by our nation's veterans.

And so as if in legislative session, and notwithstanding rule 22, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1032, the Major Richard Star Act, that the Blumenthal substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered and read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

The Presiding Officer: Is there an objection?

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC): Mr. President.

The Presiding Officer: The Senator from North Carolina.

Sen. Tillis: Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I'm going to be brief because I know we have other members waiting to speak. But, Mr. President, just by way of offsets, I know that my friend from Connecticut said he's offended by requiring an offset. I think you and I may be like-minded on this, Mr. President. You and I both had the distinction of voting against the PACT Act in 2022. I voted against the PACT Act, and nine members of the US Senate did. A majority of my conference voted with it because it was unfunded. It was a trillion dollar promise being made to veterans that I knew absolutely well if we didn't do the work to figure out how to pay for it, we weren't going to fulfill that promise.

And I told everybody back then, I'm from a veterans' state. We have a million veterans in our state. One in ten people in North Carolina are veterans. I talk to them every single day. And when they asked me why I voted against it, I said, when I make a promise, I want to fulfill it. And when you vote on something here, and you don't put a pay-for in it, you're just making a promise, you haven't created the mechanics and you haven't really made a promise that you can fulfill because you haven't said how the money to going to come. I've seen endless hearings since the PACT ACT was passed about all the problems with implementing the PACT Act. I've seen other hearings about how other promises have been broken so that we can start fulfilling the promises of the PACT Act. That's what happens when you don't think through the process. I think that's what we have here. Mr. President, we've got nearly five dozen bipartisan, bicameral priorities at risk in the Take Care of America's Veterans Act. Rather than come down here and produce the same result -- and I should add that my colleague from Connecticut was not able to pass this through unanimous consent when Democrats were in the majorities. If we want to solve this problem, if we want to solve this specific problem, which I want to solve, we do the work in the committee to put the policy down and to fund it. And for that reason, I do not believe this bill is ready for prime time, and I object.

Sen. Blumenthal: Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from North Carolina for making my argument for me. We should not make empty promises. Those veterans are due their retirement benefits, fully. They're due their compensation benefits fully. We promised them those benefits. The Major Richard Star Act enables them to receive what we have promised them and, yes, this bill has been before the congress for a long time. It has been written and rewritten, work has gone into it, and I have now presented to the Senate an offset, which should be unnecessary. My colleague from North Carolina is absolutely right. We should not demand offsets to do what's right and to fulfill our promises. But if it takes a vote of the full body, I would welcome it.

And that's why I have a second request for unanimous consent to provide a vote, give us a vote, enable us to vote aye or nay,

which I have demanded now again and again and again, and so, if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule 22, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Democratic Leader, but no later than August 7th, 2026, the Committee on Armed Services be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1032, further that there be up to two hours for debate on the bill equally divided between the two leaders or their designees and that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Blumenthal substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage, all without intervening action or debate, and no amendments or motions in order to the bill prior to the vote on passage.

The Presiding Officer: Is there an objection?

Sen. Tillis: Mr. President.

The Presiding Officer: The Senator from North Carolina.

Sen. Tillis: Reserving the right to object, it's been said that if it's already been said before, there's no need in saying it again, so I object.

The Presiding Officer: Heard.

Mr. Blumenthal: I regret again that we've been blocked now for a seventh or eighth time. But I will continue to fight for the Major Richard Star Act. It represents the will of 80 members of the United States Senate, hundreds of members of the House of Representatives, and the overwhelming view of veterans in America and the people of America. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.