Congress·In Committee·H.R. 1610

Rep. Gottheimer Introduces $700 Million Bill to Fund Cancer Screenings for Firefighters

FIRE Cancer Act of 2025

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

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Law

Key Points

The bill would let fire departments use federal Assistance to Firefighters grants to set up cancer prevention programs, including multi-cancer early detection testing and other preventive screenings for firefighting personnel.
The legislation authorizes $700 million in funding specifically for these cancer prevention grants, a significant new investment in firefighter health. Each individual test is capped at $1,750 in grant funds to stretch the money further.
From policy text
“There is authorized to be appropriated $700,000,000 for grants under subsection (c)(3)(F).”
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The bill creates a voluntary, anonymous data-sharing program between firefighters and the CDC to study cancer trends and causes among firefighting personnel. Test results would be de-identified to protect privacy.
From policy text
“The Administrator of FEMA and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall jointly establish a voluntary program through which firefighting personnel may share with the Centers results of multi-cancer early detection testing or other forms of preventative tests in order to identify any trends or causes of cancer in such personnel.”
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The bill has bipartisan support, introduced by Rep. Gottheimer with co-sponsors from both parties, and has been referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
From policy text
“Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Gillen, and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
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Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 26, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Feb 26, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

6-12 months after enactment

FEMA begins accepting grant applications for firefighter cancer prevention programs

Fire departments can start applying for federal money to set up cancer screening programs for their firefighters. It may take several months after enactment for FEMA to update its grant guidelines and open the application window.

Related News

4 articles

WRNJ Radio·about 1 year ago

Gottheimer reintroduces bipartisan legislation to provide early detection cancer tests for firefighters

U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer reintroduced the FIRE Cancer Act to ensure firefighters have access to multi-cancer early detection tests at no out-of-pocket cost. The bill is co-led by Reps. Mike Lawler, Laura Gillen, and Don Bacon, addressing the high cancer rates among first responders.

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InsiderNJ·23 days ago

Gottheimer Announces Bipartisan Bill for No-Cost Cancer Screenings for Firefighters

Standing with New Jersey firefighters, Rep. Josh Gottheimer announced the FIRE Cancer Act to expand the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. The bill allows departments to use federal funds for cancer prevention and multi-cancer early detection testing, authorizing $700 million.

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The Cancer Letter·15 days ago

House member introduces bill to increase funding for MCD testing of firefighters

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the FIRE Cancer Act to increase grant dollars available to local fire departments for cancer prevention. The legislation specifically earmarks funds for multi-cancer early detection (MCED) testing and other preventative screenings for personnel.