Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017

Summary: Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of  2018 (Sec. 2) This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters in order to collect history and occupational information that can be used to determine the incidence of cancer among firefighters. The registry must be used to improve monitoring of cancer among firefighters and to collect and publish epidemiological information. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC must enable the registry to connect to state-based cancer registries.  The CDC must also: (1) develop a strategy to encourage participation in the registry, (2) develop guidance for states and firefighting agencies regarding the registry, and (3) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must make registry data available to the public and in accordance with privacy laws. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 
2018.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY REGISTRY FOR FIREFIGHTER CANCER INCIDENCE.
    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this section as the Secretary), acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in 
coordination with other agencies as the Secretary determines 
appropriate, shall develop and maintain, directly or through a grant or 
cooperative agreement, a voluntary registry of firefighters (referred 
to in this section as the Firefighter Registry) to collect relevant 
health and occupational information of such firefighters for purposes 
of determining cancer incidence.
    (b) Use of Firefighter Registry.--The Firefighter Registry may be 
used for the following purposes:
        (1) To improve data collection and data coordination activities 
    related to the nationwide monitoring of the incidence of cancer 
    among firefighters.
        (2) To collect, consolidate, and maintain, consistent with 
    subsection (g), epidemiological information and analyses related to 
    cancer incidence and trends among firefighters
    (c) Relevant Data.--
        (1) Data collection.--In carrying out the voluntary data 
    collection for purposes of inclusion under the Firefighter 
    Registry, the Secretary may collect the following:
            (A) Information, as determined by the Secretary under 
        subsection (d)(1), of volunteer, paid-on-call, and career 
        firefighters, independent of cancer status or diagnosis.
            (B) Individual risk factors and occupational history of 
        firefighters.
            (C) Information, if available, related to--
                (i) basic demographic information, including--

                    (I) the age of the firefighter involved during the 
                relevant dates of occupation as a firefighter; and
                    (II) the age of cancer diagnosis;

                (ii) the status of the firefighter as either volunteer, 
            paid-on-call, or career firefighter;
                (iii) the total number of years of occupation as a 
            firefighter and a detailing of additional employment 
            experience, whether concurrent, before, or anytime 
            thereafter;
                (iv)(I) the approximate number of fire incidents 
            attended, including information related to the type of fire 
            incidents and the role of the firefighter in responding to 
            the incident; or
                (II) in the case of a firefighter for whom information 
            on such number and type is unavailable, an estimate of such 
            number and type based on the method developed under 
            subsection (d)(1)(D); and
                (v) other medical information and health history, 
            including additional risk factors, as appropriate, and 
            other information relevant to a cancer incidence study of 
            firefighters.
        (2) Information on diagnoses and treatment.--In carrying out 
    paragraph (1), with respect to diagnoses and treatment of 
    firefighters with cancer, the Secretary shall, as appropriate, 
    enable the Firefighter Registry to electronically connect to State-
    based cancer registries, for a purpose described by clause (vi) or 
    (vii) of section 399B(c)(2)(D) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
    U.S.C. 280e(c)(2)(D)), to obtain--
            (A) date of diagnoses and source of information; and
            (B) pathological data characterizing the cancer, including 
        cancer site, state of disease (pursuant to Staging Guide), 
        incidence, and type of treatment.
    (d) Firefighter Registry Coordination Strategy.--
        (1) Required strategy.--The Secretary shall, in consultation 
    with the relevant stakeholders identified in subsection (e), 
    including epidemiologists and pathologists, develop a strategy to 
    coordinate data collection activities, including within existing 
    State registries, for inclusion in the Firefighter Registry 
    established under this Act. The strategy may include the following:
            (A) Increasing awareness of the Firefighter Registry and 
        encouraging participation among volunteer, paid-on-call, and 
        career firefighters.
            (B) Consideration of unique data collection needs that may 
        arise to generate a statistically reliable representation of 
        minority, female, and volunteer firefighters, including 
        methods, as needed, to encourage participation from such 
        populations.
            (C) Information on how the Secretary will store data 
        described in subsection (c)(1) and provide electronic access to 
        relevant health information described in subsection (c)(2).
            (D) Working in consultation with the experts described in 
        subsection (e), a reliable and standardized method for 
        estimating the number of fire incidents attended by a 
        firefighter as well as the type of fire incident so attended in 
        the case such firefighter is unable to provide such 
        information.
        (2) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall submit the 
    strategy described in paragraph (1) to the Committee on Energy and 
    Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
    Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate not later than 
    30 days after the date of the completion of the strategy.
        (3) Guidance for inclusion and maintenance of data on 
    firefighters.--The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with 
    the stakeholders identified in subsection (e), State health 
    agencies, State departments of homeland security, and volunteer, 
    paid-on-call, combination, and career firefighting agencies, a 
    strategy for inclusion of firefighters in the registry that are 
    representative of the general population of firefighters, that 
    outlines the following:
            (A) How new information about firefighters will be 
        submitted to the Firefighter Registry for inclusion.
            (B) How information about firefighters will be maintained 
        and updated in the Firefighter Registry over time.
            (C) A method for estimating the number of fire incidents 
        attended by a firefighter as well as the type of fire incident 
        so attended in the case such firefighter is unable to provide 
        such information.
            (D) Further information, as deemed necessary by the 
        Secretary.
    (e) Consultation and Report.--The Secretary shall consult with non-
Federal experts on the Firefighter Registry established under this 
section, and shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
the House of Representatives a report that includes, as appropriate, 
information on goals achieved and improvements needed to strengthen the 
Firefighter Registry. Such non-Federal experts shall include the 
following:
        (1) Public health experts with experience in developing and 
    maintaining cancer registries.
        (2) Epidemiologists with experience in studying cancer 
    incidence.
        (3) Clinicians with experience in diagnosing and treating 
    cancer incidence.
        (4) Active and retired volunteer, paid-on-call, and career 
    firefighters as well as relevant national fire and emergency 
    response organizations.
    (f) Research Availability.--Subject to subsection (g), the 
Secretary shall ensure that information and analysis in the Firefighter 
Registry are available, as appropriate, to the public, including 
researchers, firefighters, and national fire service organizations.
    (g) Privacy.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall ensure 
that information in and analysis of the Firefighter Registry are made 
available in a manner that, at a minimum, protects personal privacy to 
the extent required by applicable Federal and State privacy law.
    (h) Authorization of Funds.--To carry out this section, there are 
authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2018 through 2022.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.