Location: 114th

(March 7, 2016) – On Thursday, February 25^th, Congressman Richard Hanna (NY-22) and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-9) introduced H.R. 4625, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act.  The legislation establishes a specialized national cancer registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve collection capabilities and activities related to monitoring cancer incidence among firefighters.

“The Congressional Fire Services Institute extends its full support to both Congressman Hanna and Congressman Pascrell for the passage of this legislation,” said CFSI Executive Director Bill Webb.  “Cancer in the fire service knows no boundaries.  It afflicts career and volunteer firefighters in every region of the country among all ethnicities.  By establishing a national cancer registry, the Centers for Disease Control and other research centers can better understand the risk factors of cancer among firefighters, which will benefit research efforts for finding a cure to this nefarious disease.”

In December 2015, CFSI’s National Advisory Committee approved a resolution in support of federal legislation, funding, and policies to address firefighter occupational cancer, including the establishment of a national registry. H.R. 4625 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.