[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2504. Mr. CARPER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle E of title VII, add the following:
SEC. 750. 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 offer 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 offered 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) 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 (such as high-sensitivity guaiac fecal occult blood
test (gFOBT), fecal immunochemical test (FIT), or multi-
targeted stool DNA test (mt-sDNA) for firefighters--
(i) who are 45 years old or older;
(ii) as clinically indicated; or
(iii) who are at increased risk of colon cancer, as
determined by the American Cancer Society, or successor
organization;
(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, such
as the prostate-specific antigen test, to screen for prostate
cancer--
(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 at increased risk of
prostate cancer, as determined by the American Cancer
Society, or successor organization; 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) Firefighter Defined.--In this section, the term
``firefighter'' means someone whose primary job or military
occupational specialty is being a firefighter.
______