Menu
Contact your representative and senators and urge them to support the Major Richard Star Act, which would authorize combat-injured veterans to receive their full DoD retirement pay earned for years of service and their full VA disability compensation for lifelong injury.
Currently, these combat-injured (and often seriously disabled) veterans are subject to a cost-saving offset where their retirement pay is reduced for every dollar of VA disability received. To reduce earned retirement pay because of a combat disability is an injustice; the compensation for these injured veterans is not the place to achieve savings.
As of mid‑2026, the Major Richard Star Act has not passed. It has enormous bipartisan support but remains stalled in Congress without a floor vote.
This legislation supports unemployed veterans and military spouses. AFTEA has long championed this program, and the addition of military spouses. Continuing to offer this tax credit to employers while enhancing the program will ensure the veteran unemployment rate remains low. Expanding this benefit to military spouses improves financial stability for the currently serving military family, increasing military readiness and retention rates.
Reinstates criminal penalties for unaccredited claim representatives who charge unauthorized fees while assisting veterans with filing a claim for VA disability compensation benefits.
This legislation supports veterans and retirees. Veterans deserve trusted, ethical, and accountable support when filing disability claims, support that protects their privacy, respects their service, and preserves their earned compensation. The goal is not to limit veterans’ ability to seek help, but to guarantee that when they do, the assistance comes from accredited professionals bound by high ethical and professional standards — and that our veterans will not be forced to surrender a portion of the benefits they earned in service to the nation.
Caring for Survivors Act (H.R. 2055 / S. 611)
Bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate (H.R. 1083/S. 414) would align Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments with other federal survivor benefits. Ask your legislators to show their support and make a long-overdue correction to this injustice.
Allows the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to continue paying servicemembers during any future funding lapse.
This legislation supports currently serving men and women, including National Guard and Reserve members.
Requires the Pentagon to establish a digital system designed to improve access to care at military treatment facilities (MTFs) by providing beneficiaries with a standardized platform to report barriers to MTF care and creating a data record that does not exist today to give Defense Health Agency leadership and Congress the insights needed to address systemic access challenges.
This legislation supports all TRICARE beneficiaries, but especially military families. Military families must have a more effective option for reporting access problems — an option that also increases transparency to beneficiary challenges and leads to greater accountability and oversight of the MHS.
Expands health care coverage and career transition support for caregivers, and would require a study designed to provide caregivers with a path toward financial security in retirement.
This legislation supports millions of caregivers. Just as our veterans answered the call to serve our nation, their caregivers also answered the call to step up and serve them. These dedicated individuals put their own futures on hold — sacrificing financial security, career advancement, and personal well-being to fulfill the nation’s promise to take care of our veterans and provide the care veterans deserve.
We represent the interests of the military community (active duty, retired, guard/reserve, family members, and survivors) through testimony before Congress and personal contact with elected officials, congressional staffers, and representatives of the Department of Defense and other executive branch agencies.