[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2852 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2852

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2023

Ms. Slotkin (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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.

    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 ``Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection 
and Prevention Act of 2023''.

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.
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