ACES Act
Bill: H.R.7524 | Sponsor: Rep. Pfluger, August (R-TX)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Aviator Cancer Examination Study Act or the ACES Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the incidence and mortality of cancer among individuals who served in the regular or reserve components of the Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as air crew members of a fixed-wing aircraft or personnel supporting generation of such an aircraft.

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an 
  agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
     Medicine to study the incidence and mortality of cancer among 
   individuals who served in the Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as 
                                aircrew.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Aviator Cancer Examination Study 
Act'' or the ``ACES Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY OF CANCER AMONG AIRCREW OF THE 
              NAVY, AIR FORCE, AND MARINE CORPS.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into 
an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
Medicine under which the National Academies shall conduct a study of 
the incidence and mortality of cancers among covered individuals.
    (b) Matters Included.--The study under subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) Identification of chemicals, compounds, agents, and 
        other phenomena that cause elevated cancer incidence and 
        mortality risks among covered individuals, including a nexus 
        study design to determine whether there is a scientifically 
        established causal link between such a chemical, compound, 
        agent, or other phenomena and such cancer incidence or 
        mortality risk.
            (2) An assessment of not fewer than 10 types of cancer that 
        are of the greatest concern with respect to exposure by covered 
        individuals to the chemicals, compounds, agents, and other 
        phenomena identified under paragraph (1), which may include 
        colon and rectum cancers, pancreatic cancer, melanoma skin 
        cancer, prostate cancer, testis cancer, urinary bladder cancer, 
        kidney cancer, brain cancer, thyroid cancer, lung cancer, and 
        non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
            (3) A review of all available sources of relevant data, 
        including health care databases of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs and the Department of Defense and the national death 
        index, and 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) Submission.--
            (1) Study.--Upon completion of the study under subsection 
        (a), the National Academies shall submit to the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
        the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the Committees on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate the study.
            (2) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2025, the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate a report on the study under subsection (a), including--
                    (A) the specific actions the Secretary is taking to 
                ensure that the study informs the evaluation of 
                disability claims made to the Secretary, including with 
                respect to providing guidance to claims examiners and 
                revising the schedule of ratings for disabilities under 
                chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code; and
                    (B) any recommendations of the Secretary.
            (3) Form.--The report under paragraph (2) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form.
    (d) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered individual'' means an individual who served in the regular or 
reserve components of the Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as an air 
crew member of a fixed-wing aircraft or personnel supporting generation 
of the aircraft, including pilots, navigators, weapons systems 
operators, aircraft system operators, personnel associated with 
aircraft maintenance, supply, logistics, fuels, or transportation, and 
any other crew member who regularly flew in an aircraft or was required 
to complete the mission of the aircraft.
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