WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman August Pfluger’s (TX-11) amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, the Aviator Cancers Examination Study (ACES) Act, passed the House of Representatives.

Pilots and aircrew have been found to have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer and melanoma, with possible links to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and testicular cancer. Pfluger’s ACES Act directs the Secretary of the VA to study cancer incidence and mortality rates among aviators and aircrew who served in the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

The ACES Act will help advance research on any correlation between aviator service and cancer rates to better assist veterans and active service members.

Rep. August Pfluger: “As a former fighter pilot, I know first-hand the risks that airmen and women take every day when they step into the cockpit. After putting their lives on the line in the line of duty for their country, airmen and women deserve assurances that they will be taken care of and not put in undue danger. This legislation will play a vital role in protecting our service members and advocating for health and overall well-being.”

Vince Alcazar, COL, USAF, Ret., Red River Valley Fighter Pilot Association: “The ACES Act asks the questions that tens of thousands of military aviators who’ve battled cancer diagnoses ask: what is causing our cancers and what is making us sick? ACES will provide answers and insights to those questions and likely others. We in the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association anticipate that the work from ACES will lead to additional research questions and inquiries. Through it all, we know that Congressman Pfluger and the other members of the House Mach 1 Caucus—all of them former military aviators—have the backs of every former and currently serving military aviator.”

The ACES Act is endorsed by): Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, For Country Caucus, The American Legion, Cease Fire Campaign, Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Services, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA), Green Beret Foundation, Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., HunterSeven Foundation, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans, Military-Veterans Advocacy, Inc., Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Veterans Legal Services Program, Non Commissioned Officers Association, Reserve Organization of America, Task Force Dagger Foundation, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, United Soldiers and Sailors of America, Veterans Warriors, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wild Weasel Society, Wounded Warrior Project.