H.R. 4704

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4704 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.
<all>