H.R. 4886House118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

ACES Act

To provide for a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among individuals who served as active duty aircrew in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

Introduced July 25, 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 10:22 AM UTC

The ACES Act directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to commission a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on how common cancer is and how often it leads to death among former active‑duty aircrew members. The study will look at possible exposure risks linked to military aviation and focus on a list of specific cancers. Results will be reported to the VA Secretary and the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees. The bill mainly affects veterans who served as pilots, navigators, weapons or aircraft system operators, or other crew on fixed‑wing aircraft.

Key Provisions

  • The VA Secretary must contract with the National Academies to conduct the cancer prevalence and mortality study for covered individuals.
  • The study will identify aviation‑related exposures, review scientific literature, and assess incidence and death rates for a set of cancers including brain, lung, prostate, and others.
  • Data sources may include VA and Department of Defense health records, the national death index, and prior related research studies.
  • The National Academies must deliver a final report with findings to the VA Secretary and the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees.
  • Defines “covered individual” as anyone who served on active duty as an aircrew member of a fixed‑wing aircraft in any military branch.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions
HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

August 15, 2023

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

July 25, 2023

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

July 25, 2023

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

August 15, 2023

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 4886 on the floor

1 Republican
Monica De La Cruz
Rep. Monica De La CruzR-TX-15 · Sep 12, 2023

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows: H.R. 16: Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Casten, Mr. Casar, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Caraveo, and Mr. Sablan. H.R.…

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued July 25, 2023

I

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4886

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 25, 2023

Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Dunn of Florida, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Bergman, Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Mike Garcia of California, Mr. Allred, and Mr. Valadao) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A BILL

To provide for a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among individuals who served as active duty aircrew in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the ACES Act.

2.

National Academies study on prevalence and mortality of cancer among individuals who served as active duty aircrew in the Armed Forces

(a)

In general

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this section referred to as the National Academies), under which the National Academies shall conduct a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancers among covered individuals.

(b)

Study

The study required under subsection (a) shall—

(1)

identify exposures associated with military occupations of covered individuals, including relating to chemicals, compounds, agents, and other phenomena;

(2)

review the literature to determine associations between exposures referred to in paragraph (1) and the incidence or prevalence of overall cancer morbidity, overall cancer mortality, and increased incidence or prevalence of—

(A)

brain cancer;

(B)

colon and rectal cancers;

(C)

kidney cancer;

(D)

lung cancer;

(E)

melanoma skin cancer;

(F)

non-Hodgkin lymphoma;

(G)

pancreatic cancer;

(H)

prostate cancer;

(I)

testiscular cancer;

(J)

thyroid cancer;

(K)

urinary bladder cancer; and

(L)

other cancers as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the National Academies; and

(3)

determine, to the extent possible, the prevalence of and mortality from the cancers specified in paragraph (2) among covered individuals by using available sources of data, which may include—

(A)

health care and other administrative databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the individual Services, respectively;

(B)

the national death index maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

(C)

the study conducted under section 750 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3716).

(c)

Report

At the conclusion of the study required under subsection (a), the National Academies shall submit to the Secretary and to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report containing the results of the study described in subsection (b).

(d)

Covered individual defined

In this section, the term covered individual means an individual who served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as an aircrew member of a fixed-wing aircraft, including as a pilot, navigator, weapons systems operator, aircraft system operator, or any other crew member who regularly flew in a fixed-wing aircraft.