Aces Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today not just as a Member of Congress but as a wingman, a servicemember, and a friend to those in uniform and in strong support of S. 201, the Aviator Cancers Examination Study Act, or the ACES Act.

Far too many of our military aviators and aircrew are being diagnosed with cancer at troubling rates. A 2021 Air Force study supported by additional Department of Defense research found that aviators face a 29 percent higher likelihood of testicular cancer, a 24 percent higher likelihood of melanoma, and a 23 percent higher risk of prostate cancer compared to their civilian counterparts.

These are incredibly healthy, in-shape, well-tested individuals, yet they have almost 30 percent higher cancer rates than the average civilian population.

Mr. Speaker, these numbers tell a painful story. When brave men and women volunteer to defend our Nation from the cockpit, they shouldn't face a second battle against cancer without our full support.

This is why this legislation, led by me and my friend from California (Mr. Panetta) in the House and by Senators Kelly and Cotton in the Senate, is critically necessary.

The ACES Act directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to partner with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study on the prevalence and causes of cancer among military aviators. We need to know the why, and we need to provide our aircrew with air cover for their own health.

By identifying the unique risk factors associated with aviation service, we can implement targeted screening protocols that enable earlier detection, when treatment is most effective. This leads to faster access to care and benefits, significantly improved survival rates, more time with loved ones, and the opportunity for continued service.

This bill builds upon previous research that has been done, but it goes the distance and increases the pool to the veteran population, not just those who are Active Duty, but also to those who have previously served as aviators.

I am an Air Force fighter pilot with over 20 years of service, and I fought alongside the best that this Nation has to offer. I have also stood beside too many of my brothers and sisters as they face their toughest battles--not in the air, but when they got home, in hospital rooms, fighting a disease that they never saw coming.

That is the story of my friend, Colonel Andy ``Pablo'' Shurtleff. In March, Andy did a wonderful job of testifying before the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, sharing how his sudden cancer diagnosis brought his promising career to an abrupt end. He spoke with clarity and conviction about how a better understanding of cancer risk in the aviation community might have led to earlier detection not only in his case but in many of our friends and many of our wingmen, detection that could have saved his life and their lives.

Shortly after that, on Friday, May 23, my friend Pablo lost his battle with cancer. In his final days, one of the few comforts he knew was that the ACES Act was on track to becoming law. His courage, voice, and advocacy for other servicemembers should not be forgotten.

There are countless others I have served with, including people like Colonel Michael ``Bam Bam'' Stapleton and so many others who many of us know. That is what this bill represents. It represents keeping Pablo in the cockpit. It represents Pablo's kids and others in the next generation wanting to sign up for this because they know that we are going to give them that air cover.

This bill received bipartisan support on the House floor with a vote of 376-5 in May. This bill has the support of over 20 veteran organizations, cancer advocacy groups, and medical experts because they recognize what is at stake.

With the passage of this version of the bill, it will be sent to the President's desk, and I am hopeful that the President will sign it into law quickly so we can fulfill our promise to those who serve, a promise that when someone serves our Nation, we have their backs, that we will serve them, and that we will protect them.

Today, as we cast our votes on this critical legislation, we stand closer than ever to honoring the memory of heroes like Andy and giving future servicemembers a real chance at early detection, better treatment, and lifesaving research.

I sincerely thank my colleagues who cosponsored this bipartisan legislation, as well as Chairman Bost, the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee; the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee; Chairman Luttrell; members of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees; Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senator Jerry Moran; and leadership for their unwavering support for moving this bill. Unlike many others in Congress, this was moved with Mach, with airspeed, and I appreciate that.

I am also deeply grateful to the dedicated volunteers of the MACH Coalition, whose passion and persistence helped carry this effort forward.

My heartfelt thanks go to Senator Mark Kelly, himself a combat veteran, a pilot, and an astronaut, and Senator Cotton for championing this bill in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' There really is no reason that we can't make this a unanimous ``yes'' vote in support of the ACES Act.

Most of all, my deepest gratitude goes to the thousands of pilots and aircrew members who are defending our Nation every single day. We see them. We thank them. We have their backs. This is the air cover that they so desperately deserve.

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