Goodlander, a Navy Reserve veteran, helped force today’s vote by signing the bipartisan discharge petition and fighting for the bill on the House Armed Services Committee

Washington, D.C. — Today, one day after Veterans Day, the House overwhelmingly passed the Major Richard Star Act, a bipartisan bill that would end the “wounded veteran tax” — a decades-old loophole that forces combat-injured veterans to give up part of their retirement pay if they also receive disability compensation due to the sacrifice they made to our country. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, who served 11 years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and now serves on the House Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, championed the bill as an original cosponsor and helped lead the fight to force today’s vote.

“American heroes like Major Richard Star put their lives on the line for America — the last thing our own government should do is cut the pay and benefits our combat-disabled have earned,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “Right now, our government is taxing tens of thousands of our combat veterans — and it’s dead wrong. No American patriot who gives their health to our country should have to choose between the pay and benefits they earned. The House took a mission-critical step today to correct this grave injustice, and the Senate must act now to make our bipartisan bill law — without delay.”

Under current law, American servicemembers who are medically retired because of combat-related disabilities before reaching 20 years of service see their military retirement pay cut dollar for dollar by their VA disability compensation. The Major Richard Star Act ends that injustice for nearly 60,000 combat-injured veterans, so they receive both benefits in full.

The bipartisan bill is named for Major Richard Star, an Army combat engineer who cleared roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan so his fellow soldiers could make it home safe. In 2018, Major Star was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer linked to burn pit exposure and was medically retired before reaching 20 years of service. He spent his final years fighting to change the law that cut his retirement pay. He died in 2021 at age 51. His wife, Tonya, carried on his fight until her death in 2024.

Congresswoman Goodlander has been a leading champion of the Major Richard Star Act. She is an original cosponsor, signed and rallied signatures for the bipartisan discharge petition that forced today’s vote, and championed the Major Richard Star Act as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

A Navy Reserve veteran who served 11 years as an intelligence officer and now serves on key House Committees, Congresswoman Goodlander has delivered real results for New Hampshire’s veterans, servicemembers, and military families:

• Goodlander helped secure a raise for our troops and lower costs for military families. She helped secure a 3.8% pay raise for our troops in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, alongside measures to make child care more affordable, including a pilot program authorizing a 30% increase in the maximum child-care subsidy for children two and younger in high-cost areas. She also fought for a Pentagon PFAS cleanup strategy to protect military families’ drinking water.
• Goodlander championed protections for New Hampshire’s Guard and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Her bipartisan TRANSFER Act cuts the red tape that keeps the National Guard from holding on to experienced officers. Its provisions and the protections she helped secure against hiring freezes, layoffs, and unjustified hiring delays at public shipyards, including Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, became law in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
• Goodlander is fighting to make sure our troops get paid in any government shutdown — and Congress does not. Goodlander helps lead the bipartisan Shutdown Fairness Act to guarantee that servicemembers, reservists, federal employees, and contractors receive their paychecks in full and on time during a government shutdown. She is also championing the bipartisan Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act, which passed the House Administration Committee unanimously and would withhold lawmakers’ pay until the government reopens. She also offered a bipartisan amendment to the FY2027 defense bill to incorporate the Pay Our Troops Act of 2026.
• Goodlander is cracking down on “claim sharks.” She joined a bipartisan group of more than 40 members demanding action from the VA, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against predatory operators illegally charging veterans tens of thousands of dollars for help claiming the disability benefits they have earned. She also cosponsors the bipartisan GUARD VA Benefits Act to restore penalties for charging veterans unauthorized fees.
• Goodlander is fighting for the modern VA that New Hampshire has been promised. She helped pass a bipartisan House amendment supporting funding for upgrades at the Manchester VA Medical Center. She will not quit until New Hampshire veterans get every penny they were promised and the health care they have earned, when and where they need it.
• Goodlander helped make the ACES Act law. She helped usher the ACES Act of 2025 into law, requiring an independent National Academies study of cancer among military aviators and aircrew to help inform better prevention and care.
• Her first bill helps disabled veterans. Goodlander helped lead the bipartisan ASSIST Act, which passed the House by voice vote. It would cut the red tape that keeps disabled veterans from getting the medically necessary vehicle adaptations they need to travel safely.
• Goodlander is protecting the care veterans have earned. She cosponsors the bipartisan VET PFAS Act to expand care for veterans and families exposed to PFAS at military installations, and the Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act of 2025 to strengthen research into the health effects of military toxic exposure on veterans’ descendants. She also helps lead the bipartisan WINGS Act to study military aviators’ long-term brain health. Her work includes strengthening mental-health care and suicide prevention, easing the transition to civilian life, and expanding access to non-opioid pain treatment and dental care.
• She is helping veterans turn their service into a degree. Her bipartisan Military Learning for Credit Act would help veterans earn college credit for their military training and experience, reducing duplicative coursework and helping them make the most of their GI Bill benefits.
• She is standing up for military kids. Goodlander helped introduce the bipartisan Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act to let military children remain on their parents’ TRICARE coverage until age 26, bringing their coverage in line with private insurance.

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