The bipartisan, bicameral Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Aug. 18.
The legislation directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study cancer prevalence and mortality among those who served as active-duty aircrew in fixed-wing aircraft across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to better understand the risks facing aircrew, identify opportunities for further research, and improve care for veterans. It builds on findings from a 2021 Air Force study showing that aircrew are at a higher risk of developing certain cancers.
The study will examine cancers such as brain, colon, rectal, kidney, lung, melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, prostate, testicular, thyroid, bladder, and any others identified as relevant by the VA Secretary in consultation with NASEM.
The legislation was led in the Senate by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) and in the House by Reps. August Pfluger (R-Tex.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). Itl was passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives and unanimously in the Senate earlier this year.
“The ACES Act is now the law of the land. I’m grateful to President Trump for signing it today and for all his ongoing support of our veterans,” said Cotton in a statement. “We owe it to past, present, and future aviators in the armed forces to study the prevalence of cancer among this group of veterans.”
Kellty said veteran aviators and aircrews deserve answers about the correlation between their job and cancer risks in order to reduce those risks for future pilots.
“As a former Navy pilot, there are certain risks that we know and accept come with our service, but we know far less about the health risks that are affecting many aviators and aircrews years later,” he said in a statement.
Pfluger, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, introduced the bill in the House in honor of his friend and retired Air Force Col. and fighter pilot Andy Shurtleff, who died in May following a battle with cancer.
“This legislation is more than just a bill — it's a lifeline and a message to every pilot who has put on the uniform to protect our skies that we will fight to protect their health in return,” he said in a statement. “The ACES Act has been my top priority in Congress, and it is deeply personal to me.”
Text of the bill can be found here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.