S. 201 — ACES Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek, within 30 days of enactment, an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on cancer prevalence and mortality 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)—and to finalize the agreement within 60 days of initiating negotiations (with reporting to and briefings for the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs every 60 days if delayed). The study must (1) identify occupational exposures (e.g., chemicals, compounds), (2) review literature on associations between those exposures and overall cancer morbidity or mortality or increased incidence or prevalence of specified cancers (e.g., brain, colon and rectal, kidney, lung, melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, prostate, testicular, thyroid, urinary bladder, and others as appropriate), and (3) determine prevalence and mortality using available data sources (e.g., Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense databases, National Death Index, prior study under section 750 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021); the National Academies must submit a report on results to the Secretary and committees upon completion.