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Union Calendar No. 226 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2499 

[Report No. 117–306] 

To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption 

that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance 

of such employees duty, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2021 

Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself, Mr. BACON, Mr. TAKANO, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and Labor 

MAY 6, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. TURNER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

BUSH, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RYAN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, 

Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CRAIG, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. LAWSON

of Florida, Mrs. DEMINGS, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. 

LARSEN of Washington, Ms. DEAN, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. BROWN

of Maryland, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. LAMB, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. SCHRIER, 

Mr. RASKIN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LAMALFA, Ms. MANNING, Mr. COSTA, 

Mr. DELGADO, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. TRONE, Ms. 

BROWNLEY, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. PORTER, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. 

SUOZZI, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. VICENTE

GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 

VARGAS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. PANETTA, 

Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. 

O’HALLERAN, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Mr. BEYER, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. OMAR, Mr. GRIJALVA, 


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Mr. MORELLE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, Mr. CORREA, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. KAHELE, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

PAPPAS, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. KILMER, Ms. BOURDEAUX, 

Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SOTO, Ms. LOIS

FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. CROW, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. 

DINGELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. CUELLAR, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. ROSS, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

RUSH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Ms. TLAIB, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. 

CARSON, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. DEFAZIO, 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. SALAZAR, Ms. 

MENG, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. 

MFUME, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. REED, Mr. JONES, Mr. KATKO, Mr. COLE, 

Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. 

WITTMAN, Ms. BROWN of Ohio, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. STANTON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

JEFFRIES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. 

MCBATH, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. KELLY of 

Illinois, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. CHU, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. BARR, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. SEWELL, 

Mr. HIMES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. 

JACOBS of California, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. WELCH, Mr. BERA, Mr. BOST, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. 

EVANS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. 

THOMPSON of California, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Ms. 

STEVENS


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MAY 6, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 14, 2021] 


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•HR 2499 RH

A BILL 

To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to 

create a presumption that a disability or death of a 

Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by 

any of certain diseases is the result of the performance 

of such employees duty, and for other purposes. 


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•HR 2499 RH

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 Firefighters 

5 Fairness Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RE7 LATED CAUSE OF DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR 

8 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE PROTECTION 

9 ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) PRESUMPTION RELATING TO EMPLOYEES IN FIRE

11 PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.—Subchapter I of chapter 81 of 

12 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

13 section 8143a the following (and by conforming the table 

14 of contents of such chapter accordingly): 

15 ‘‘§ 8143b. Employees in fire protection activities. 

16 ‘‘(a) CERTAIN DISEASES DEEMED TO BE PROXI17 MATELY CAUSED BY EMPLOYMENT IN FIRE PROTECTION

18 ACTIVITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For a claim under this sub20 chapter of disability or death of an employee who has 

21 been employed for a minimum of 5 years in aggregate 

22 as an employee in fire protection activities, a disease 

23 specified on the list established under paragraph (2) 

24 shall be deemed to be proximately caused by the em25 ployment of such employee. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF INITIAL LIST.—There 

2 is established under this section the following list of 

3 diseases: 

4 ‘‘(A) Bladder cancer. 

5 ‘‘(B) Brain cancer. 

6 ‘‘(C) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

7 ‘‘(D) Colorectal cancer. 

8 ‘‘(E) Esophageal cancer. 

9 ‘‘(F) Kidney cancer. 

10 ‘‘(G) Leukemias. 

11 ‘‘(H) Lung cancer. 

12 ‘‘(I) Mesothelioma. 

13 ‘‘(J) Multiple myeloma. 

14 ‘‘(K) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

15 ‘‘(L) Prostate cancer. 

16 ‘‘(M) Skin cancer (melanoma). 

17 ‘‘(N) A sudden cardiac event or stroke 

18 while, or not later than 24 hours after, engaging 

19 in the activities described in subsection 

20 (b)(1)(C). 

21 ‘‘(O) Testicular cancer. 

22 ‘‘(P) Thyroid cancer. 

23 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONS TO THE LIST.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pe25 riodically review the list established under this 


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1 section in consultation with the Director of the 

2 National Institute on Occupational Safety and 

3 Health and shall add a disease to the list by 

4 rule, upon a showing by a petitioner or on the 

5 Secretary’s own determination, in accordance 

6 with this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR DETERMINATION.—The 

8 Secretary shall add a disease to the list upon a 

9 showing by a petitioner or the Secretary’s own 

10 determination, based on the weight of the best 

11 available scientific evidence, that there is a sig12 nificant risk to employees in fire protection ac13 tivities of developing such disease. 

14 ‘‘(C) AVAILABLE EXPERTISE.—In deter15 mining significant risk for purposes of subpara16 graph (B), the Secretary may accept as authori17 tative and may rely upon recommendations, risk 

18 assessments, and scientific studies (including 

19 analyses of National Firefighter Registry data 

20 pertaining to Federal firefighters) by the Na21 tional Institute for Occupational Safety and 

22 Health, the National Toxicology Program, the 

23 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 

24 and Medicine, and the International Agency for 

25 Research on Cancer. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PETITIONS TO ADD TO THE LIST.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person may peti3 tion the Secretary to add a disease to the list 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF PETITION.—Such peti6 tion shall provide information to show that there 

7 is sufficient evidence of a significant risk to em8 ployees in fire protection activities of developing 

9 such illness or disease from their employment. 

10 ‘‘(C) TIMELY AND SUBSTANTIVE DECI11 SIONS.—Not later than 18 months after receipt 

12 of a petition, the Secretary shall either grant or 

13 deny the petition by publishing in the Federal 

14 Register a written explanation of the reasons for 

15 the Secretary’s decision. The Secretary may not 

16 deny a petition solely on the basis of competing 

17 priorities, inadequate resources, or insufficient 

18 time for review. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE IN FIRE PROTECTION ACTIVI21 TIES.—The term ‘employee in fire protection activi22 ties’ means an employee employed as a firefighter, 

23 paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue 

24 worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material 

25 worker, who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is trained in fire suppression; 

2 ‘‘(B) has the legal authority and responsi3 bility to engage in fire suppression; 

4 ‘‘(C) is engaged in the prevention, control, 

5 and extinguishment of fires or response to emer6 gency situations where life, property, or the envi7 ronment is at risk, including the prevention, 

8 control, suppression, or management of wildland 

9 fires; and 

10 ‘‘(D) performs such activities as a primary 

11 responsibility of his or her job. 

12 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

13 Secretary of Labor.’’. 

14 (b) RESEARCH COOPERATION.—Not later than 120 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

16 of Labor shall establish a process by which a Federal em17 ployee in fire protection activities filing a claim related to 

18 a disease on the list established by section 8143b of title 

19 5, United States Code, will be informed about and offered 

20 the opportunity to contribute to science by voluntarily en21 rolling in the National Firefighter Registry or a similar 

22 research or public health initiative conducted by the Centers 

23 for Disease Control and Prevention. 


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1 (c) REVIEW OF SCIENCE ON BREAST CANCER.—Not 

2 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) evaluate the best available scientific evidence 

5 of the risk to an employee in fire protection activities 

6 of developing breast cancer; 

7 (2) add breast cancer to the list established under 

8 section 8143b of title 5, United States Code, by rule 

9 in accordance with subsection (a)(3) of such section, 

10 if the Secretary determines that such evidence sup11 ports such addition; and 

12 (3) submit a report of the Secretary’s findings 

13 under paragraph (1) and the Secretary’s determina14 tion under paragraph (2) to the Committee on Edu15 cation and Labor of the House and the Committee on 

16 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen17 ate. 

18 (d) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this sec19 tion shall apply to claims for compensation filed on or after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 226 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2499 

[Report No. 117–306] 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States 

duty, and for other purposes. result of the performance of such employees tivities caused by any of certain diseases is the death of a Federal employee in fire protection acCode, to create a presumption that a disability or 

MAY 6, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS