How a $10 billion veterans bill became a $78 billion debate
The Major Richard Star Act, designed to end a 'Wounded Veteran Tax' for combat-injured retirees, saw its projected cost skyrocket from $10 billion to $78.1 billion between its 2023 and 2025 versions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) attributed the increase to two provisions: extending Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay (CRDP) to Chapter 61 retirees with fewer than 20 years of service ($63 billion) and removing a cap on CRDP for those with 20+ years ($2 billion). While Congressional staff intended to fix a narrow gap affecting about 1,124 veterans, CBO interpreted the revised language as making 255,000 retirees newly eligible, based on DoD actuarial data. This dramatic cost shift has transformed the political debate around the once-broadly supported bill, creating a stalemate between legislative intent and budget scoring.
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