[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2665 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2665

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2023

Mr. Carper (for himself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and 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 subsection (b), the Secretary of 
Defense 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.
    (b) Criteria.--Services required to be provided under subsection 
(a) shall meet, at a minimum, the following criteria:
            (1) Breast cancer.--With respect to breast cancer 
        screening, if the firefighter is a female firefighter--
                    (A) such services shall include the provision of a 
                mammogram to the firefighter--
                            (i) if the firefighter is 40 years old to 
                        49 years old (inclusive), not less frequently 
                        than twice each year;
                            (ii) if the firefighter is 50 years old or 
                        older, not less frequently than annually; and
                            (iii) as clinically indicated (without 
                        regard to age); and
                    (B) in connection with the provision of a mammogram 
                under subparagraph (A), 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 40 years old or older, or 
                as clinically indicated without regard to age, such 
                services shall include the communication to the 
                firefighter of the risks and benefits of stool-based 
                blood testing;
                    (B) if the firefighter is 45 years old or older, or 
                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 the provision of a visual 
                examination or stool-based blood testing under 
                subparagraph (B), 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, such 
        services shall include 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) not less frequently than annually if the 
                firefighter--
                            (i) is 50 years old or older; or
                            (ii) is 40 years old or older and is a 
                        high-risk individual; and
                    (B) 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.
    (c) Optional Nature.--A firefighter of the Department of Defense 
may opt out of the receipt of medical testing or a related service 
provided under subsection (a).
    (d) 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 (Public 
Law 104-113; 15 U.S.C. 272 note).
    (e) 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.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Firefighter.--The term ``firefighter'' means someone 
        whose primary job or military occupational specialty is being a 
        firefighter.
            (2) High-risk individual.--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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