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S 201

Relates to certain calls received by child protective services

2025 Regular Session Introduced by George Borrello and 7 co-sponsors

Directs the National Academies to study cancer prevalence and mortality among active-duty fixed-wing aircrew, identify exposures, and inform VA policy and veteran care.

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Bill Summary · S 201

Summary — S.201 (ACES Act of 2025)

Title / Purpose

The “ACES Act of 2025” directs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancers among individuals who served as active‑duty fixed‑wing aircrew in the U.S. Armed Forces. The goal is to identify occupational exposures, review evidence linking exposures to cancer, and estimate cancer prevalence and mortality in this population to inform VA policy, research, and veteran care.

Key provisions

  • Assignment: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies to perform the study.
    • The Secretary must seek the agreement within 30 days after the Act’s enactment.
    • Once negotiations begin, the Secretary must finalize the agreement within 60 days. If the Secretary does not meet that 60‑day finalization deadline, the Secretary must:
    • Submit a report to the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees explaining the delay and estimating a finalization date; and
    • Provide progress briefings to those Committees at least every 60 days thereafter.
  • Study scope:
    • Identify exposures associated with aircrew military occupations (chemicals, compounds, agents, other phenomena).
    • Review literature to assess associations between those exposures and (a) overall cancer incidence and mortality and (b) increased incidence or prevalence of specified cancers (see list below).
    • Determine, to the extent possible using available data, the prevalence and mortality of those cancers among covered individuals.
  • Specified cancers to be examined include: brain; colon and rectal; kidney; lung; melanoma (skin); non‑Hodgkin lymphoma; pancreatic; prostate; testicular; thyroid; urinary bladder; and other cancers as the VA Secretary and National Academies consider appropriate.
  • Data sources the National Academies may use:
    • Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, and Service administrative and health care databases;
    • National Death Index (NCHS/CDC);
    • The study from section 750 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for FY2021 (Pub. L. 116–283).
  • Reporting: At conclusion, the National Academies must submit a study report to the VA Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees.

Who is affected

  • “Covered individual” = anyone who served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as a fixed‑wing aircrew member (pilots, navigators, weapons systems operators, aircraft system operators, or other crew who regularly flew in fixed‑wing aircraft). Primary impacts concern these veterans, VA and DoD data stewards, researchers, and policymakers.

Timeline / Procedural points

  • Agreement initiation: within 30 days of enactment.
  • Agreement finalization: within 60 days after negotiations begin (with reporting/briefing obligations if missed).
  • No statutory deadline is set for study completion or report submission; the Act requires the National Academies to submit a report “at the conclusion of the study.”

Potential impact

  • Produces a centralized, expert assessment of cancer risks among fixed‑wing aircrew veterans.
  • Findings could inform VA rulemaking, benefit presumptions, targeted outreach, surveillance, and future research priorities.
  • Actual utility will depend on data completeness, ability to link exposures to health outcomes, and the National Academies’ recommendations.

Sponsors & status

  • Introduced in Senate Jan 23, 2025 by Sen. Mark Kelly (primary), with Sen. Tom Cotton as an initial cosponsor; additional sponsors listed.
  • Passed Senate (June 3, 2025) and House (July 21, 2025). Presented to President July 21, 2025; signed into law Aug 14, 2025.
  • Became Public Law No. 119‑32 (enacted Aug 14, 2025).

(For detailed legislative history, committee records, and the eventual National Academies report, consult official Congressional and VA publications.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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