MACH Allies,

A quick correction to this morning’s update.

Check out our website for MACH: https://milaviator.org/

H.R. 4704 is the ROTOR Act:
Rotary-wing Operator Toxic Occupational Risks Act

HOVER is our lead MACH Partner is this effort. They are Helicopter Operators for Validated Exposure Reform. https://www.hoveradvocacy.org/home

With gratitude,
Shelly Mendieta, Col (Ret), USAF
Communications Team Lead
Military Aviator Coalition for Health (MACH)
📧 MachCommsTeam@gmail.com
🔗 https://milaviator.org

Dear MACH Allies,

We have incredible news to share—and it’s because of people like you who took the time to contact Congressional Representatives, share your stories, and help move this effort forward.

🎉 The Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act has officially passed both chambers of Congress—unanimously in the Senate and unanimously by suspension of the rules in the House. It now heads to the White House for the President’s signature, expected this fall. This is a major milestone in securing long-overdue research into the cancer risks faced by fixed-wing military aircrew.

ACES is a direct result of your advocacy. This victory belongs to every aviator, caregiver, family member, and supporter who raised their voice. Thank you.

But we’re not done yet. Our work will continue as the VA and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) begin designing the ACES study, and MACH will stay closely engaged throughout.

As we celebrate this win, we’re also moving forward with the next critical step: the HOVER Act.

✈️ H.R. 4704 – the HOVER Act, introduced by Representative Rich McCormick and 40 bipartisan co-sponsors, builds on the foundation of ACES. It ensures that helicopter pilots, rotary-wing crew, and other non-fixed-wing aircrew are not left behind. The bill directs the Director of the Defense Health Agency to conduct a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among military rotary-wing pilots and aviation support personnel.

Rotor-wing communities face unique exposure pathways that deserve the same level of attention, research, and care.

We’ll be calling on your voices again soon to build momentum for the HOVER Act as it begins its legislative journey.

For now—thank you. The passage of the ACES Act proves what we can accomplish together. And we’re just getting started.

With gratitude,
Shelly Mendieta, Col (Ret), USAF
Communications Team Lead
Military Aviator Coalition for Health (MACH)
📧 MachCommsTeam@gmail.com
🔗 https://milaviator.org

We cannot thank you enough for your incredible support in advocating for H.R. 530, the ACES Act. Thanks to you and 601 other allies who wrote letters to the DAMA committee, we made a real impact. We were told that your emails made H.R. 530 visible.

Last week, the ACES Act was introduced at the Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs (DAMA) subcommittee. Congressman August Pfluger delivered an eloquent defense of the bill, countering VA skepticism, while Andy "Pablo" Shurtleff’s powerful personal testimony about his battle with stage 4 kidney cancer underscored the urgent need for this legislation. For those of us in attendance, it became clear—H.R. 530 is moving forward.

We also want to extend our gratitude to Chairman Morgan Luttrell and Ranking Member Rep. Morgan McGarvey for their thoughtful questions and support, as well as to our allies at TAPS, DAV, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and VFW.

So, what’s next?

DAMA is expected to reconvene in April for a "Mark-up Session" (tentatively the week of April 7 or April 28-30), where members will vote on each bill. A simple majority "yes" vote will send H.R. 530 to the full House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC). When we reach that stage, we’ll need your support again to ensure its continued progress.

For those interested, you can watch the full committee hearing here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgF9-Sq9ub4&t=1254s
Or view key ACES Act excerpts here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10iFnDV4jljQl6V_FWBH-vDg6iAa7UaCm?usp=drive_link

Thank you for standing with us in this fight. We will keep you updated and look forward to working together as we push toward the next step!

With deep appreciation,
Shelly Mendieta
MACH Coalition
MACH CommsTeam@gmail.com