II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4043 

To require the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive database 

and repository on military aviators and conduct a study on such aviators 

to determine the incidence of cancer diagnosis and mortality among 

such aviators, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2020 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive database and repository on military aviators and 

conduct a study on such aviators to determine the incidence of cancer diagnosis and mortality among such aviators, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Aviators Can5 cer Incidence Study Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DATABASE ON MILITARY AVIATORS AND STUDY ON 

2 THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND 

3 MORTALITY AMONG MILITARY AVIATORS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) It has been reported that the prevalence of 

7 cancer is particularly high among military aviators, 

8 particularly among fighter pilots in the Air Force, 

9 Navy, and Marine Corps. 

10 (2) There have been several alarming clusters 

11 of cancer diagnoses at military installations, includ12 ing at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in 

13 California and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in 

14 North Carolina. 

15 (3) Four commanding officers who served at 

16 Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake have died of 

17 cancer. Each officer had completed thousands of 

18 flight hours in advanced jets. 

19 (4) According to a study by the Air Force in 

20 2008 titled ‘‘Cancer in Fighters’’, six pilots and 

21 weapons systems officers for the F–15E Strike 

22 Eagle at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, aged 33 

23 to 43, were diagnosed with forms of urogenital can24 cers between 2002 and 2005. Each officer had com25 pleted at least 2,100 flight hours. 


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1 (5) A study by the Air Force in 2010 reported 

2 on a cluster of seven members of the Air Force Spe3 cial Operations Command diagnosed with brain can4 cer among crew members of the C–130 between 

5 2006 and 2009. The individuals affected were three 

6 C–130 pilots, two flight engineers, one loadmaster, 

7 and one navigator assigned to different installations 

8 around the world. Overall, brain cancer affects ap9 proximately 6.5 out of 100,000 people in the United 

10 States annually. 

11 (6) There has been no comprehensive study 

12 conducted of cancer rates among military aviators. 

13 (7) One challenge of extracting findings from 

14 previous studies by the Navy or the Air Force on 

15 cancer rates is that each study focused on pilots who 

16 are active duty members of the Armed Forces and 

17 did not include the medical records of former pilots 

18 who are veterans, which is the population in which 

19 cancer is surfacing. 

20 (8) Members of the Armed Forces who serve 

21 full military careers are not likely to be counted in 

22 data captured by the Department of Veterans Af23 fairs. Members who serve 20 years or more are eligi24 ble for health care under the TRICARE program, 

25 which is managed by the Department of Defense. 


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1 Also, many members pursue private sector jobs after 

2 separating from the Armed Forces and receive 

3 health care outside of the Federal Government. 

4 Those factors have made it difficult to find statistics 

5 to back up the health issues that families of military 

6 aviators are experiencing. 

7 (b) DATABASE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Defense shall seek to enter into an agreement 

11 with the National Institutes of Health, the National 

12 Cancer Institute, and the Department of Veterans 

13 Affairs, under which the Secretary of Defense shall 

14 develop a comprehensive database and repository— 

15 (A) identifying each military aviator; and 

16 (B) documenting the cancers, date of diag17 nosis, and mortality of all such military avi18 ators. 

19 (2) DATA.—The Secretary of Defense shall for20 mat all data included in the database and repository 

21 under paragraph (1) in accordance with the Surveil22 lance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of 

23 the National Cancer Institute, including by 

24 disaggregating such data by race, gender, and age. 

25 (c) STUDY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

2 conjunction with the National Institutes of Health 

3 and the National Cancer Institute, shall conduct a 

4 study on cancer among military aviators in two 

5 phases as provided in this subsection. 

6 (2) PHASE 1.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the initial phase 

8 of the study conducted under paragraph (1), 

9 the Secretary of Defense shall determine if 

10 there is a higher incidence of cancers occurring 

11 for military aviators as compared to similar age 

12 groups in the general population through the 

13 use of the database of the Surveillance, Epide14 miology, and End Results program of the Na15 tional Cancer Institute. 

16 (B) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

17 after the date on which the Secretary of De18 fense enters into the agreement under sub19 section (b)(1), the Secretary shall submit to the 

20 appropriate committees of Congress a report on 

21 the findings of the initial phase of the study 

22 under subparagraph (A). 

23 (3) PHASE 2.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, pursuant to the ini25 tial phase of the study under paragraph (2), the 


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1 Secretary concludes that there is an increased 

2 rate of cancers among military aviators, the 

3 Secretary shall conduct a second phase of the 

4 study under which the Secretary shall do the 

5 following: 

6 (i) Identify the carcinogenic toxins or 

7 hazardous materials associated with mili8 tary flight operations from shipboard or 

9 land bases or facilities, such as fuels, 

10 fumes, and other liquids. 

11 (ii) Identify the operating environ12 ments, including frequencies or electro13 magnetic fields, where exposure to ionizing 

14 radiation (associated with high altitude 

15 flight) and nonionizing radiation (associ16 ated with airborne, ground, and shipboard 

17 radars) occurred in which military aviators 

18 could have received increased radiation 

19 amounts. 

20 (iii) Identify, for each military aviator, 

21 duty stations, dates of service, aircraft 

22 flown, and additional duties (such as 

23 Landing Safety Officer, Catapult and Ar24 resting Gear Officer, Air Liaison Officer, 

25 or Tactical Air Control Party) that could 


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1 have increased the risk of cancer for such 

2 military aviator. 

3 (iv) Determine locations where a mili4 tary aviator served or additional duties of 

5 a military aviator that are associated with 

6 higher incidences of cancers. 

7 (v) Identify potential exposures due to 

8 service in the Armed Forces that are not 

9 related to aviation, such as exposure to 

10 burn pits or toxins in contaminated water, 

11 embedded in the soil, or inside bases or 

12 housing. 

13 (vi) Determine the appropriate age to 

14 begin screening military aviators for cancer 

15 based on race, gender, flying hours, Armed 

16 Force, type of aircraft, and mission. 

17 (B) DATA.—The Secretary shall format all 

18 data included in the study conducted under this 

19 paragraph in accordance with the Surveillance, 

20 Epidemiology, and End Results program of the 

21 National Cancer Institute, including by 

22 disaggregating such data by race, gender, and 

23 age. 

24 (C) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

25 after the submittal of the report under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:14 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4043.IS S4043

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1 graph (2)(B), if the Secretary conducts the sec2 ond phase of the study under this paragraph, 

3 the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a report on the findings 

5 of the study conducted under this paragraph. 

6 (4) USE OF DATA FROM PREVIOUS STUDIES.— 

7 In conducting the study under this subsection, the 

8 Secretary of Defense shall incorporate data from 

9 previous studies conducted by the Air Force, the 

10 Navy, or the Marine Corps that are relevant to the 

11 study under this subsection, including data from the 

12 comprehensive study conducted by the Air Force 

13 identifying each military aviator and documenting 

14 the cancers, dates of diagnoses, and mortality of 

15 each military aviator. 

16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS.— 

18 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

19 means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Armed Services and 

21 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen22 ate; and 

23 (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 

24 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives. 


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1 (2) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘‘Armed 

2 Forces’’— 

3 (A) has the meaning given the term 

4 ‘‘armed forces’’ in section 101 of title 10, 

5 United States Code; and 

6 (B) includes the reserve components 

7 named in section 10101 of such title. 

8 (3) MILITARY AVIATOR.—The term ‘‘military 

9 aviator’’— 

10 (A) means an aviator who served in the 

11 Armed Forces on or after February 28, 1961; 

12 and 

13 (B) includes any air crew member of fixed14 wing aircraft, including pilots, navigators, 

15 weapons systems operators, aircraft system op16 erators, and any other crew member who regu17 larly flies in an aircraft or is required to com18 plete the mission of the aircraft. 

Æ 


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