[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4704 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4704
To direct the Director of the Defense Health Agency to conduct a study
on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among military rotary wing
pilots and aviation support personnel, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 23, 2025
Mr. McCormick (for himself, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Davis of
North Carolina, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Mr.
Bacon, Mr. Khanna, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Golden of Maine, and Mr. Finstad)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Director of the Defense Health Agency to conduct a study
on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among military rotary wing
pilots and aviation support personnel, and for other purposes.
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 ``Rotary-wing Operator Toxic
Occupational Research Act'' or the ``ROTOR Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDY ON PREVALENCE AND MORTALITY OF CANCER AMONG MILITARY
ROTARY-WING PILOTS AND AVIATION SUPPORT PERSONNEL.
(a) Study Required.--The Director of the Defense Health Agency, in
coordination with the Directors of the National Institutes of Health
and the National Cancer Institute, shall conduct a study among covered
individuals in two phases as provided by this section.
(b) Initial Phase of Study.--
(1) Goal of initial phase.--Under the initial phase of the
study under subsection (a), the Director of the Defense Health
Agency shall determine, for each cancer specified in paragraph
(2), whether there is an increased prevalence of, or increased
rate of mortality caused by, such cancer for covered
individuals as compared to similarly aged individuals in the
general population (or, in the case of the cancer specified in
paragraph (2)(B), for female covered individuals as compared to
similarly aged women in the general population).
(2) Cancers specified.--The cancers specified in this
paragraph are the following:
(A) Brain cancer.
(B) Breast cancer.
(C) Colon and rectal cancer.
(D) Kidney cancer.
(E) Lung cancer.
(F) Melanoma.
(G) Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
(H) Ovarian cancer.
(I) Pancreatic cancer.
(J) Prostate cancer.
(K) Testicular cancer.
(L) Urinary bladder cancer.
(3) Report on initial phase.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the
Defense Health Agency shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the findings of the phase
of the study under this subsection.
(c) Second Phase of Study.--
(1) Goal of second phase.--If, pursuant to the phase of the
study under subsection (b), the Director of the Defense Health
Agency determines there is an increased prevalence of, or
increased mortality rate caused by, any cancer specified in
subsection (b)(2) among covered individuals (or, with respect
to the cancer specified in subsection (b)(2)(B), among female
covered individuals), the Director shall conduct a second phase
of the study to--
(A) identify any carcinogenic toxin or other
hazardous material associated with the operation of
military rotary-wing aircraft, such as fumes, fuels, or
other liquids;
(B) identify any operating environment, including
frequencies or electromagnetic fields, in which covered
individuals may have received excess exposure to non-
ionizing radiation in the course of such operation,
including non-ionizing radiation associated with
airborne, ground, or shipboard radars; and
(C) identify potential exposures as a result of
military service by covered individuals to carcinogenic
toxins or other hazardous materials not associated with
the operation of military rotary-wing aircraft (such as
exposure to burn pits, toxins in contaminated water, or
toxins embedded in soils), including by determining--
(i) the locations of such service; and
(ii) any duties of covered individuals
unrelated to such operation and associated with
an increased prevalence of, or increased
mortality rate caused by, cancer.
(2) Report on second phase.--If the Director of the Defense
Health Agency conducts the phase of the study under this
subsection, not later than one year after the date on which the
Director submits the report under subsection (b)(3), the
Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the findings of such phase.
(3) Data format.--The Director of the Defense Health Agency
shall format any data resulting from the phase of the study
under this subsection consistent with the formatting of data
under the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program,
including by disaggregating such data by race, gender, and age.
(d) Sources of Data.--In conducting the study under this section,
the Director of the Defense Health Agency shall use data from--
(1) the database of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End
Results program;
(2) the study conducted under section 750 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-
283; 134 Stat. 3716); and
(3) any other study previously conducted by the Secretary
of a military department that the Director determines relevant
for purposes of this section.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
(2) The term ``covered Armed Force'' means the Army, Navy,
Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.
(3) The term ``covered individual'' means any individual
who--
(A) served in a covered Armed Force on or after
February 28, 1961, as an aircrew member of a rotary-
wing aircraft (including as a pilot or aviation support
personnel), without regard to the status, position,
rank, or grade of the individual within such crew; and
(B) receives health care benefits under chapter 55
of title 10, United States Code.
(4) The term ``Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results
program'' means the program of the National Cancer Institute
referred to in section 399B(d)(1) of the Public Health Service
Act (40 U.S.C. 280e(d)(1)), or any successor program.
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