April 17, 2025
Mr. Bacon (for himself and Mr. Norcross) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide to firefighters of the Department of Defense medical testing and related services to detect and prevent certain cancers.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection and Prevention Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Medical testing and related services for firefighters of Department of Defense
(a) Provision of services
During the annual periodic health assessment of each firefighter of the Department of Defense, or at such other intervals as may be indicated in this subsection, the Secretary shall provide to the firefighter (at no cost to the firefighter) appropriate medical testing and related services to detect, document the presence or absence of, and prevent, certain cancers. Such services shall meet, at a minimum, the following criteria:
(1) Breast cancer
With respect to the breast cancer screening, if the firefighter is a female firefighter—
(A)
such services shall include the provision of a mammogram to the firefighter—
(i)
on at least a biannual basis if the firefighter is 40 years old to 49 years old (inclusive);
(ii)
on at least an annual basis if the firefighter is at least 50 years old; and
(iii)
as clinically indicated (without regard to age); and
(B)
in connection with such provision, a licensed radiologist shall review the most recent mammogram provided to the firefighter, as compared to prior mammograms so provided, and provide to the firefighter the results of such review.
(2) Colon cancer
With respect to colon cancer screening—
(A)
if the firefighter is at least 40 years old, and as otherwise clinically indicated, such services shall include the communication to the firefighter of the risks and benefits of stool-based blood testing;
(B)
if the firefighter is at least 45 years old, and as clinically indicated (without regard to age), such services shall include the provision, at regular intervals, of visual examinations (such as a colonoscopy, CT colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy) or stool-based blood testing; and
(C)
in connection with such provision, a licensed physician shall review and provide to the firefighter the results of such examination or testing, as the case may be.
(3) Prostate cancer
With respect to prostate cancer screening, if the firefighter is a male firefighter, the communication to the firefighter of the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screenings and the provision to the firefighter of a prostate-specific antigen test—
(A)
on an annual basis, if the firefighter is at least 50 years old;
(B)
on an annual basis, if the firefighter is at least 40 years old and is a high-risk individual; and
(C)
as clinically indicated (without regard to age).
(4) Other cancers
Such services shall include routine screenings for any other cancer the risk or occurrence of which the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified as higher among firefighters than among the general public, the provision of which shall be carried out during the annual periodic health assessment of the firefighter.
(b) Optional nature
A firefighter of the Department of Defense may opt out of the receipt of a medical testing or related service provided under subsection (a).
(c) Use of consensus technical standards
In providing medical testing and related services under subsection (a), the Secretary shall use consensus technical standards in accordance with section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note).
(d) Documentation
(1) In general
In providing medical testing and related services under subsection (a), the Secretary—
(A)
shall document the acceptance rates of such tests offered and the rates of such tests performed;
(B)
shall document tests results, to identify trends in the rates of cancer occurrences among firefighters; and
(C)
may collect and maintain additional information from the recipients of such tests and other services, to allow for appropriate scientific analysis.
(2) Privacy
In analyzing any information of an individual documented, collected, or maintained under paragraph (1), in addition to complying with other applicable privacy laws, the Secretary shall ensure the name, and any other personally identifiable information, of the individual is removed from such information prior to the analysis.
(3) Sharing with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Secretary may share data from any tests performed under subsection (a) with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as appropriate, to increase the knowledge and understanding of cancer occurrences among firefighters.
(e) Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The term firefighter has the meaning given that term in section 707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1441; 10 U.S.C. 1074m note).
(2)
The term high-risk individual means an individual who—
(A)
is African American;
(B)
has at least one first-degree relative who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age; or
(C)
is otherwise determined by the Secretary to be high risk with respect to prostate cancer.