I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7524 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 14, 2022 Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Allred , Mr. Garcia of California , Mr. C. Scott Franklin of Florida , Mr. Ellzey , Mr. Feenstra , Mr. Kahele , Mr. Bacon , and Mrs. Miller-Meeks ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs A BILL 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Aviator Cancer Examination Study Act or the ACES Act . 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.