How many veterans would the Major Richard Star Act add to concurrent receipt eligibility, according to CBO scoring?
Executive summary
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the Major Richard Star Act as extending concurrent receipt to roughly 52,000 combat‑injured veterans who currently lose part of their military retirement pay because of the VA disability offset; CBO’s projection implies that the pool would grow by about 7,000 more beneficiaries over the 2024–2033 window as additional retirees become eligible (CBO report; stakeholders’ summaries) [1] [2] [3]. Advocates round that figure to “about 50,000,” while some military groups point to a more precise count—52,304—when critiquing the CBO cost assumptions (RAND summary; MOAA; CBO) [4] [3] [1].
1. What the CBO actually counted: the new cohort of concurrent‑receipt recipients
CBO’s formal analysis of H.R. 1282 (the Major Richard Star Act) concluded the law would allow a discrete group of retirees—those medically retired with a combat‑related disability and fewer than 20 years of service who currently receive VA disability compensation but have retirement pay reduced by that amount—to receive both full retired pay and VA compensation concurrently, and CBO’s scoring translates that policy change into roughly 52,000 affected veterans in the near term, with CBO also projecting growth in that population over the next decade [1] [2].
2. The arithmetic behind the headline: why advocates and analysts use slightly different numbers
Supporters and policy shops use different framings—some round to “about 50,000” for messaging, while advocacy and service‑member organizations have singled out a specific spreadsheet count of 52,304 personnel who would be eligible, a number that critics of the CBO estimate cite when arguing the score overstates uptake or cost [4] [3]. CBO’s estimate is not only a headcount but also embedded in its budget scoring assumptions about how many veterans would switch from tax‑favored combat‑related special compensation (CRSC) to concurrent receipt mechanisms and how quickly newly eligible retirees will appear; those behavioral choices drive the dollar cost and therefore how the eligible population is described in various summaries [5] [2].
3. Timing matters: the near‑term count and the projected increase over 2024–2033
CBO’s scoring flags that while the immediate jump in eligibility is in the ~52,000 range, the cohort isn’t static—CBO expects the number of service members eligible for CRSC/related concurrent policies to grow by about 7,000 by 2033 as additional retirees with qualifying combat‑related disabilities reach retirement, a projection that affects 10‑ and 20‑year cost windows and the reported fiscal impact of the bill [2] [5]. That projected increase is why some summaries speak of both a baseline eligible population and a longer‑term expansion: the statute would change current rules immediately but demographic flows make the beneficiary pool larger over time [2].
4. Disputes and caveats in the reporting: uptake, CRSC interactions, and budget conventions
Analysts and veteran groups dispute parts of CBO’s approach: MOAA and other advocates argue CBO’s cost and eligibility assumptions overstate both the number who would switch from CRSC to the concurrent‑receipt option and the pace at which they would do so—pointing out that many already receive tax‑free CRSC and might elect not to convert, which would lower fiscal and beneficiary counts compared with CBO’s baseline assumptions [3]. CBO’s count reflects the statutory mechanics and modeled behavior required for budget scoring; it is the authoritative federal score for congressional deliberations, but stakeholders correctly note behavioral choices, open‑season transfers, and implementation rules could change the realized number [1] [3].
5. Bottom line: the CBO‑scored figure to cite
For purposes of policy debate and media shorthand, the CBO score indicates the Major Richard Star Act would make roughly 52,000 additional combat‑injured veterans eligible for concurrent receipt, with CBO projecting the pool to rise by about 7,000 more beneficiaries through 2033—figures echoed, rounded, and critiqued across RAND, MOAA, and congressional summaries [1] [2] [4] [3]. Those are CBO‑derived counts used for legislative scoring; observers should read them alongside stakeholder caveats about uptake and existing CRSC options when evaluating the policy’s human and fiscal impact [3] [5].