Rep. Gottheimer-backed Firefighter Cancer Registry Investment Passes House

WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release:

This week, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), a member of the bipartisan Congressional Fire Services Caucus, supported firefighters by voting to increase investment in the Firefighter Cancer Registry, and urging the CDC to maximize firefighter participation.

Gottheimer voted to pass an amendment introduced by Congressman Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), to fully fund the Firefighter Cancer Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Fiscal Year 2020. The Registry is a voluntary registry of firefighters that collects health and occupational information to determine cancer incidence and trends among firefighters.

Given that firefighters have a greater number of cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths than the general population, Gottheimer was an original cosponsor of H.R.931 - the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2018, which established the Registry.

This week, Gottheimer also signed a bipartisan letter urging the Director of the CDC to use an expansive definition of firefighter, including all volunteer, paid-on-call, career, private sector, and federal firefighters.

"North Jersey's firefighters have our backs every day - running into fires and saving lives - and it is our duty to have their backs," said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). "I am proud to work with Congressman Pascrell and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that we take care of our firefighters by improving data collection with the Firefighter Cancer Registry."