WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) has asked members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to support his legislation (H.R. 3821) to reauthorize the Firefighter Cancer Registry for five years at a higher funding authorization level. Congressman Pascrell helped create the Registry in 2018 through his Firefighter Cancer Registry Act and is now leading legislation to extend this lifesaving program into the future.

“Supporting research for deadly diseases is one of the most effective ways in which the federal government can invest in improving the health outcomes of our citizenry. I am grateful that my bipartisan bill, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023, is a part of today’s discussion. I appreciate the support of Reps. Fitzpatrick, Hoyer, and Bost, who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and are my co-leads on H.R. 3821,” Congressman Pascrell told the subcommittee.

Created by Congress in 2018, the Firefighter Cancer Registry is maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor and study the relationship between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of cancer in firefighters so to develop better protective gear and prevention techniques.

H.R. 3821 would authorize the Firefighter Cancer Registry for five years at $5.5 million, which is an increase from previous authorized level of $2.5 million.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Congressional Fire Services Institute, National Volunteer Fire Council, and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation support H.R.3821.

In 2015 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a multi-year study which found that firefighters are 9% more likely to develop cancer and 14% more likely to die from cancer relative to the general population.

Last year, cancer was the leading cause of death among firefighters, accounting for 74% of line of duty deaths according to the International Association of Fire Fighters.

On July 9, 2018, legislation sponsored by Rep. Pascrell and Sen. Menendez creating a firefighter cancer registry for the first time was signed into law.

Their bill required the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create a national cancer registry for firefighters to monitor and study the relationship between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of cancer in firefighters so to develop better protective gear and prevention techniques.

Rep. Pascrell and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) first announced the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act in May 2016 during a news conference at Clifton, New Jersey Fire Station 5, where they were joined by dozens of firefighters, including retired Haddon Heights Fire Chief Gene Dannenfelster, who later lost his battle with cancer.