CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

DemocratAmendment · S.Amdt. 2296· Senate(119-SAMDT-2296)

In the nature of a substitute.

Rep. Kelly
Age: 62 years
Arizona
Introduced
6/3/2025
Last activity
6/3/2025 — Amendment SA 2296 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
Sponsored by
Mark Kelly
Cosponsors
Democrat - 0Republican - 1
Changes bill
119-S-201 — ACES Act of 2025
  1. Introduced
  2. Passed Senate
  3. Adopted

What this amendment would do

As folks who look out for the good of the people and hold our officials accountable, we need to know what this amendment does. This text proposes Amendment SA 2296, known as the ACES Act of 2025. It aims to change the bill by striking everything after the enacting clause and replacing it with instructions for a comprehensive study.

The main purpose of this amendment is to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This agreement sets up a study on the rates and deaths from cancer among individuals who served on active duty as aircrew members in the Armed Forces.

Here is what the amendment specifically adds and sets up:

  • The Study Agreement: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must try to make an agreement with the National Academies within 30 days of the Act being enacted, and finalize that agreement within 60 days of starting negotiations.

  • Accountability Rules: If the Secretary fails to finalize the agreement on time, they must report the reasons and an estimated completion date to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs. They must also brief these committees every 60 days until the agreement is finished.

  • Exposures and Cancers: The study must identify military occupation exposures like chemicals and compounds, review literature for links between those exposures and overall cancer rates, and specifically look into several types of cancers including brain, colon and rectal, kidney, lung, melanoma skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, prostate, testicular, thyroid, urinary bladder, and other cancers determined by the Secretary.

  • Data Sources: The study will use available data from Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense databases, the national death index, and a previous study from the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

  • Final Report: At the end of the study, the National Academies must submit a report with their results to the Secretary and the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.