II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2665 

To require the Secretary of Defense to provide to firefighters of the Department of Defense medical testing and related services to detect and 

prevent certain cancers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. CARPER (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) 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 provide to firefighters 

of the Department of Defense medical testing and related 

services to detect and prevent certain cancers. 

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 ‘‘Federal Firefighter 

5 Cancer Detection and Prevention Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MEDICAL TESTING AND RELATED SERVICES FOR 

2 FIREFIGHTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF DE3 FENSE. 

4 (a) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—During the annual 

5 periodic health assessment of each firefighter of the De6 partment of Defense, or at such other intervals as may 

7 be indicated in subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense 

8 shall provide to the firefighter (at no cost to the fire9 fighter) appropriate medical testing and related services 

10 to detect, document the presence or absence of, and pre11 vent, certain cancers. 

12 (b) CRITERIA.—Services required to be provided 

13 under subsection (a) shall meet, at a minimum, the fol14 lowing criteria: 

15 (1) BREAST CANCER.—With respect to breast 

16 cancer screening, if the firefighter is a female fire17 fighter— 

18 (A) such services shall include the provi19 sion of a mammogram to the firefighter— 

20 (i) if the firefighter is 40 years old to 

21 49 years old (inclusive), not less frequently 

22 than twice each year; 

23 (ii) if the firefighter is 50 years old or 

24 older, not less frequently than annually; 

25 and 


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1 (iii) as clinically indicated (without re2 gard to age); and 

3 (B) in connection with the provision of a 

4 mammogram under subparagraph (A), a li5 censed radiologist shall review the most recent 

6 mammogram provided to the firefighter, as 

7 compared to prior mammograms so provided, 

8 and provide to the firefighter the results of such 

9 review. 

10 (2) COLON CANCER.—With respect to colon 

11 cancer screening— 

12 (A) if the firefighter is 40 years old or 

13 older, or as clinically indicated without regard 

14 to age, such services shall include the commu15 nication to the firefighter of the risks and bene16 fits of stool-based blood testing; 

17 (B) if the firefighter is 45 years old or 

18 older, or as clinically indicated without regard 

19 to age, such services shall include the provision, 

20 at regular intervals, of visual examinations 

21 (such as a colonoscopy, CT colonoscopy, or 

22 flexible sigmoidoscopy) or stool-based blood 

23 testing; and 

24 (C) in connection with the provision of a 

25 visual examination or stool-based blood testing 


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1 under subparagraph (B), a licensed physician 

2 shall review and provide to the firefighter the 

3 results of such examination or testing, as the 

4 case may be. 

5 (3) PROSTATE CANCER.—With respect to pros6 tate cancer screening, if the firefighter is a male 

7 firefighter, such services shall include the commu8 nication to the firefighter of the risks and benefits 

9 of prostate cancer screenings and the provision to 

10 the firefighter of a prostate-specific antigen test— 

11 (A) not less frequently than annually if the 

12 firefighter— 

13 (i) is 50 years old or older; or 

14 (ii) is 40 years old or older and is a 

15 high-risk individual; and 

16 (B) as clinically indicated (without regard 

17 to age). 

18 (4) OTHER CANCERS.—Such services shall in19 clude routine screenings for any other cancer the 

20 risk or occurrence of which the Director of the Cen21 ters for Disease Control and Prevention has identi22 fied as higher among firefighters than among the 

23 general public, the provision of which shall be car24 ried out during the annual periodic health assess25 ment of the firefighter. 


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1 (c) OPTIONAL NATURE.—A firefighter of the Depart2 ment of Defense may opt out of the receipt of medical 

3 testing or a related service provided under subsection (a). 

4 (d) USE OF CONSENSUS TECHNICAL STANDARDS.— 

5 In providing medical testing and related services under 

6 subsection (a), the Secretary shall use consensus technical 

7 standards in accordance with section 12(d) of the National 

8 Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Pub9 lic Law 104–113; 15 U.S.C. 272 note). 

10 (e) DOCUMENTATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing medical testing 

12 and related services under subsection (a), the Sec13 retary— 

14 (A) shall document the acceptance rates of 

15 such tests offered and the rates of such tests 

16 performed; 

17 (B) shall document tests results to identify 

18 trends in the rates of cancer occurrences among 

19 firefighters; and 

20 (C) may collect and maintain additional in21 formation from the recipients of such tests and 

22 other services to allow for appropriate scientific 

23 analysis. 

24 (2) PRIVACY.—In analyzing any information of 

25 an individual documented, collected, or maintained 


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1 under paragraph (1), in addition to complying with 

2 other applicable privacy laws, the Secretary shall en3 sure the name and any other personally identifiable 

4 information of the individual is removed from such 

5 information prior to the analysis. 

6 (3) SHARING WITH CENTERS FOR DISEASE

7 CONTROL AND PREVENTION.—The Secretary may 

8 share data from any tests performed under sub9 section (a) with the Director of the Centers for Dis10 ease Control and Prevention, as appropriate, to in11 crease the knowledge and understanding of cancer 

12 occurrences among firefighters. 

13 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ 

15 means someone whose primary job or military occu16 pational specialty is being a firefighter. 

17 (2) HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘high18 risk individual’’ means an individual who— 

19 (A) is African American; 

20 (B) has at least one first-degree relative 

21 who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer at 

22 an early age; or 


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1 (C) is otherwise determined by the Sec2 retary to be high risk with respect to prostate 

3 cancer. 

Æ 


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