119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 530 
AN ACT 
To provide for a study by the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the prevalence 
and mortality of cancer among individuals who served 
as active duty aircrew in the Armed Forces, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘ACES Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL ACADEMIES STUDY ON PREVALENCE 
AND MORTALITY OF CANCER AMONG INDI-
VIDUALS WHO SERVED AS ACTIVE DUTY AIR-
CREW IN THE ARMED FORCES. 
(a) AGREEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agree-
ment with the National Academies of Sciences, En-
gineering, and Medicine (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘National Academies’’), under which the Na-
tional Academies shall conduct a study on the preva-
lence and mortality of cancers among covered indi-
viduals. 
(2) DEADLINE.— 
(A) DATE.—The Secretary shall finalize 
the agreement under paragraph (1) by not later 
than 60 days after the date on which the Sec-
retary enters negotiations with the National 
Academies with respect to such agreement. 
(B) REPORT; BRIEFINGS.—If the Secretary 
fails to satisfy the requirement under subpara-
graph (A), the Secretary shall—
(i) submit to the Committees on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the House of Representa-
tives and the Senate a report that in-
cludes— 
(I) an explanation of the reasons 
the Secretary failed to satisfy such re-
quirement; and 
(II) an estimate of the date on 
which the Secretary will finalize the 
agreement under paragraph (1); and 
(ii) not less frequently than once every 
60 days after the date on which the Sec-
retary failed to satisfy such requirement, 
provide to the Committees on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate a briefing on the progress 
of the Secretary toward finalizing such 
agreement. 
(b) STUDY.—The study required under subsection (a) 
shall— 
(1) identify exposures associated with military 
occupations of covered individuals, including relating 
to chemicals, compounds, agents, and other phe-
nomena;
(2) review the literature to determine associa-
tions between exposures referred to in paragraph (1) 
and the incidence or prevalence of overall cancer 
morbidity, overall cancer mortality, and increased in-
cidence or prevalence of— 
(A) brain cancer; 
(B) colon and rectal cancers; 
(C) kidney cancer; 
(D) lung cancer; 
(E) melanoma skin cancer; 
(F) non-Hodgkin lymphoma; 
(G) pancreatic cancer; 
(H) prostate cancer; 
(I) testiscular cancer; 
(J) thyroid cancer; 
(K) urinary bladder cancer; and 
(L) other cancers as determined appro-
priate by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
consultation with the National Academies; and 
(3) determine, to the extent possible, the preva-
lence of and mortality from the cancers specified in 
paragraph (2) among covered individuals by using 
available sources of data, which may include— 
(A) health care and other administrative 
databases of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, the Department of Defense, and the indi-
vidual Services, respectively; 
(B) the national death index maintained by 
the National Center for Health Statistics of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 
and 
(C) the study conducted under section 750 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 
(Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3716). 
(c) REPORT.—At the conclusion of the study required 
under subsection (a), the National Academies shall submit 
to the Secretary and to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report containing the results of the study described in sub-
section (b). 
(d) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 
who served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, 
or Marine Corps as an aircrew member of a fixed-wing 
aircraft, including as a pilot, navigator, weapons systems 
operator, aircraft system operator, or any other crew 
member who regularly flew in a fixed-wing aircraft.