H.R. 530 — ACES Act

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 30 days after enactment, to seek an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancers among covered individuals, defined as individuals who served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as aircrew members of fixed-wing aircraft (e.g., pilots, navigators, weapons systems operators). The study must (1) identify exposures associated with such military occupations, including chemicals, compounds, agents, and other phenomena; (2) review literature on associations between those exposures and overall cancer morbidity or mortality, or increased incidence or prevalence of specified cancers (brain, colon and rectal, kidney, lung, melanoma skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, prostate, testicular, thyroid, urinary bladder, and others determined appropriate); and (3) determine prevalence and mortality of those cancers using available data sources, including Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense databases, the National Death Index, and a prior study under section 750 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The Secretary must finalize the agreement not later than 60 days after entering negotiations or submit a report to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House and Senate explaining any delay with an estimated completion date and provide briefings every 60 days thereafter; the National Academies must submit a report on the study results to the Secretary and those committees upon completion.