I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2852 
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide to firefighters of the Depart-
ment of Defense medical testing and related services to detect and 
prevent certain cancers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 25, 2023 
Ms. SLOTKIN (for herself and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; which 
was 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firefighter 
Cancer Detection and Prevention Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. MEDICAL TESTING AND RELATED SERVICES FOR 
FIREFIGHTERS 
OF 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
DE-
FENSE. 
(a) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—During the annual 
periodic health assessment of each firefighter of the De-
partment of Defense, or at such other intervals as may 
be indicated in this subsection, the Secretary shall provide 
to the firefighter (at no cost to the firefighter) appropriate 
medical testing and related services to detect, document 
the presence or absence of, and prevent, certain cancers. 
Such services shall meet, at a minimum, the following cri-
teria: 
(1) BREAST
CANCER.—With respect to the 
breast cancer screening, if the firefighter is a female 
firefighter— 
(A) such services shall include the provi-
sion of a mammogram to the firefighter— 
(i) on at least a biannual basis if the 
firefighter is 40 years old to 49 years old 
(inclusive); 
(ii) on at least an annual basis if the 
firefighter is at least 50 years old; and 
(iii) as clinically indicated (without re-
gard to age); and 
(B) in connection with such provision, a li-
censed radiologist shall review the most recent 
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mammogram provided to the firefighter, as 
compared to prior mammograms so provided, 
and provide to the firefighter the results of such 
review. 
(2) COLON
CANCER.—With respect to colon 
cancer screening— 
(A) if the firefighter is at least 40 years 
old, and as otherwise clinically indicated, such 
services shall include the communication to the 
firefighter of the risks and benefits of stool- 
based blood testing; 
(B) if the firefighter is at least 45 years 
old, and as clinically indicated (without regard 
to age), such services shall include the provi-
sion, at regular intervals, of visual examinations 
(such as a colonoscopy, CT colonoscopy, or 
flexible sigmoidoscopy) or stool-based blood 
testing; and 
(C) in connection with such provision, a li-
censed physician shall review and provide to the 
firefighter the results of such examination or 
testing, as the case may be. 
(3) PROSTATE CANCER.—With respect to pros-
tate cancer screening, if the firefighter is a male 
firefighter, the communication to the firefighter of 
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the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screenings 
and the provision to the firefighter of a prostate-spe-
cific antigen test— 
(A) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is 
at least 50 years old; 
(B) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is 
at least 40 years old and is a high-risk indi-
vidual; and 
(C) as clinically indicated (without regard 
to age). 
(4) OTHER CANCERS.—Such services shall in-
clude routine screenings for any other cancer the 
risk or occurrence of which the Director of the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention has identi-
fied as higher among firefighters than among the 
general public, the provision of which shall be car-
ried out during the annual periodic health assess-
ment of the firefighter. 
(b) OPTIONAL NATURE.—A firefighter of the Depart-
ment of Defense may opt out of the receipt of a medical 
testing or related service provided under subsection (a). 
(c) USE OF CONSENSUS TECHNICAL STANDARDS.— 
In providing medical testing and related services under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall use consensus technical 
standards in accordance with section 12(d) of the National 
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Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 
U.S.C. 272 note). 
(d) DOCUMENTATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing medical testing 
and related services under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary— 
(A) shall document the acceptance rates of 
such tests offered and the rates of such tests 
performed; 
(B) shall document tests results, to iden-
tify trends in the rates of cancer occurrences 
among firefighters; and 
(C) may collect and maintain additional in-
formation from the recipients of such tests and 
other services, to allow for appropriate scientific 
analysis. 
(2) PRIVACY.—In analyzing any information of 
an individual documented, collected, or maintained 
under paragraph (1), in addition to complying with 
other applicable privacy laws, the Secretary shall en-
sure the name, and any other personally identifiable 
information, of the individual is removed from such 
information prior to the analysis. 
(3) SHARING
WITH
CENTERS
FOR
DISEASE 
CONTROL
AND
PREVENTION.—The Secretary may 
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share data from any tests performed under sub-
section (a) with the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, as appropriate, to in-
crease the knowledge and understanding of cancer 
occurrences among firefighters. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 707 of the National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Pub-
lic Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1441; 10 U.S.C. 1074m 
note). 
(2) The term ‘‘high-risk individual’’ means an 
individual who— 
(A) is African American; 
(B) has at least one first-degree relative 
who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer at 
an early age; or 
(C) is otherwise determined by the Sec-
retary to be high risk with respect to prostate 
cancer. 
Æ 
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