What This Bill Does
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give grants to schools and health organizations to help students access defibrillators (devices that restart hearts). Grant recipients can use money to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs), train students and staff in CPR and defibrillation, and develop emergency response plans for sudden cardiac arrest.
Who It Affects
Local educational agencies (including public charter schools), public elementary and secondary schools, qualified health care entities (public entities or nonprofit organizations), students, school staff, sports volunteers, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement programs that promote student access to defibrillation in public elementary and secondary schools (Sec. 3(a))
• Grant recipients can use funds to develop AED and CPR programs, purchase approved AEDs, replace old equipment, train students and staff, develop cardiac emergency response plans, and screen student athletes for sudden cardiac arrest risk (Sec. 3(b))
• Eligible entities must be a local educational agency working with a qualified health care entity and must submit an application to the Secretary (Sec. 3(c))
• The Secretary must create a clearinghouse database within one year to collect information about student access to defibrillation in schools, including costs and voluntary reporting from schools and manufacturers (Sec. 3(d))
• Grant recipients must submit a report to the Secretary within four years describing activities carried out with grant funds, and the Secretary must submit a consolidated evaluation to Congress within one year after receiving those reports (Sec. 3(e))
What Changes
Schools and qualified health care organizations can now receive federal grants to purchase AEDs, train people in their use, and create emergency cardiac response plans. A national database will be established to track defibrillator access in schools and collect research data on sudden cardiac arrest in children.
Important Definitions
• AED means an automated external defibrillator (Sec. 3(f)(1))
• CPR means cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Sec. 3(f)(2))
• Elementary school, local educational agency, and secondary school are defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Sec. 3(f)(3))
• Qualified health care entity means a public entity or nonprofit organization that can develop and implement a comprehensive defibrillation program and is qualified to provide AED and CPR training (Sec. 3(f)(4))
• Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Sec. 3(f)(5))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2370
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants
to eligible entities to develop and implement a comprehensive program
to promote student access to defibrillation in public elementary schools
and secondary schools.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 2023
Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (for herself, Mr. POSEY, Ms. WILSON of Flor-
ida, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr.
CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. CASTOR of
Florida, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. WILD,
Mr. CARSON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, Mr. SOTO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. LANDSMAN,
Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr.
BISHOP
of Georgia, Mr. JACKSON
of Illinois, Mr. MFUME, Ms.
KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms.
SEWELL, Mr. LIEU, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. CHU, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. LEE
of California, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms.
BROWN, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr.
ESPAILLAT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, and Mr. BARR) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services
to award grants to eligible entities to develop and imple-
ment a comprehensive program to promote student ac-
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•HR 2370 IH
cess to defibrillation in public elementary schools and
secondary schools.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to AEDs Act’’.
4
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
5
Congress finds as follows:
6
(1) Heart disease is the leading cause of death
7
in the United States.
8
(2) Sudden cardiac arrest (referred to in this
9
section as ‘‘SCA’’) is a life-threatening emergency
10
that is caused by a malfunction in the heart’s elec-
11
trical system or structure, which is caused by an ab-
12
normality from birth or one that develops over time.
13
(3) Studies show that 1 in 300 youth has an
14
undetected heart condition that puts them at risk.
15
(4) SCA is the leading cause of death for stu-
16
dent athletes.
17
(5) Sports-related SCA account for 39 percent
18
of SCAs among children 18 years old or younger.
19
(6) In 2018, there were nearly 394,000 sudden
20
cardiac arrests that occurred in the United States,
21
with 9 out of 10 being fatal. Only 1 in 10 victims
22
survive a sudden cardiac arrest.
23
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•HR 2370 IH
(7) An estimated 7,000 to 23,000 young people
1
are stricken by SCA annually.
2
(8) The American Heart Association estimates
3
that 5 in 10 victims of SCA could survive if bystand-
4
ers gave CPR and used an AED immediately.
5
(9) The chain of survival includes prompt noti-
6
fication of emergency services and early CPR,
7
defibrillation, and advanced cardiac life support.
8
(10) Health education should include basic
9
emergency lifesaving skills. Incorporating these life-
10
saving training programs into the health curriculum
11
of public elementary and secondary schools will give
12
children and youth these skills.
13
SEC.
3.
PROMOTING
STUDENT
ACCESS
TO
14
DEFIBRILLATION.
15
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants
16
to eligible entities to develop and implement a comprehen-
17
sive program to promote student access to defibrillation
18
in public elementary schools and secondary schools.
19
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a
20
grant under subsection (a) may use funds received
21
through such grant to carry out any of the following activi-
22
ties:
23
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•HR 2370 IH
(1) Developing and providing comprehensive
1
materials to establish AED and CPR programs in
2
public elementary schools and secondary schools.
3
(2) Providing support for CPR and AED train-
4
ing programs in such schools for students, staff, and
5
related sports volunteers.
6
(3) Providing support for developing a cardiac
7
emergency response plan within such schools.
8
(4) Purchasing AEDs that have been approved
9
under section 515 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
10
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360e), cleared under sec-
11
tion 510(k) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 360(k)), or au-
12
thorized under section 513(f)(2) of such Act (21
13
U.S.C. 360c(f)(2)).
14
(5) Purchasing necessary AED batteries and
15
performing necessary AED maintenance (such as by
16
replacing AED pads) in accordance with the labeling
17
of the AED involved.
18
(6) Replacing old and outdated AED and CPR
19
equipment, machinery, and educational materials.
20
(7) Fostering new and existing community part-
21
nerships with and among local educational agencies,
22
nonprofit organizations, public health organizations,
23
emergency medical service providers, fire and police
24
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•HR 2370 IH
departments, and parent-teacher associations to pro-
1
mote the importance of defibrillation in such schools.
2
(8) Aiding school athletic departments to screen
3
student athletes for risk of sudden cardiac arrest,
4
consistent with guidelines of the American Heart As-
5
sociation and the American College of Cardiology.
6
(9) Further developing strategies to improve ac-
7
cess to AEDs in such schools.
8
(c) ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a
9
grant under subsection (a), an entity shall—
10
(1) be a local educational agency (including a
11
public charter school operating as a local educational
12
agency under State law), in consultation with a
13
qualified health care entity; and
14
(2) submit to the Secretary an application at
15
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
16
formation as the Secretary may reasonably require.
17
(d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—Not later than 1 year after
18
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es-
19
tablish a clearinghouse database—
20
(1) to collect and make available information,
21
including through voluntary reporting by local edu-
22
cational agencies, State educational agencies, and
23
manufacturers,
relating
to
student
access
to
24
defibrillation in public elementary schools and sec-
25
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•HR 2370 IH
ondary schools, including with respect to the costs of
1
providing AEDs and CPR training; and
2
(2) to gather information in a central location
3
to facilitate research regarding sudden cardiac arrest
4
in the pediatric population.
5
(e) REPORTS.—
6
(1) BY GRANTEE.—Not later than 4 years after
7
receipt of a grant under this section, the recipient of
8
the grant shall submit to the Secretary a report that
9
describes the activities carried out with funds re-
10
ceived through the grant.
11
(2) BY SECRETARY.—Not later than one year
12
after receiving the reports required by paragraph
13
(1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
14
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen-
15
ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce
16
and the Committee on Education and the Workforce
17
of the House of Representatives a consolidated eval-
18
uation of the activities carried out pursuant to
19
grants under this section.
20
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
21
(1) the term ‘‘AED’’ means an automated ex-
22
ternal defibrillator;
23
(2) the term ‘‘CPR’’ means cardiopulmonary
24
resuscitation;
25
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•HR 2370 IH
(3) the terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu-
1
cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the
2
meanings given to such terms in section 8101 of the
3
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
4
(20 U.S.C. 7801);
5
(4) the term ‘‘qualified health care entity’’
6
means a health care entity that—
7
(A) is—
8
(i) a public entity; or
9
(ii) an organization that is described
10
in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
11
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
12
under section 501(a) of such Code;
13
(B) demonstrates an ability to develop,
14
train, and implement a comprehensive program
15
to promote student access to defibrillation in el-
16
ementary and secondary schools; and
17
(C) is qualified in providing technical as-
18
sistance in AED and CPR training; and
19
(5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
20
of Health and Human Services.
21
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry
22
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated
23
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•HR 2370 IH
$25,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through
1
2028.
2
Æ
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