[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H15277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JOSH MILLER HEARTS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Sutton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, there are no words to describe the pain we 
feel when a young life is lost.
  To know Josh Miller was to know a kindhearted and generous young man 
with limitless potential. Josh was a Baberton High School sophomore 
with a 4.0 grade point average, a linebacker who dreamed of playing 
football for Ohio State one day.
  But one day, without warning, these dreams were cut short. Josh had 
never shown any signs of heart trouble, but during the final game of 
the 2000 football season, he collapsed after leaving the field. By the 
time his heart was shocked with an automated external defibrillator, it 
was too late to save him.
  Josh suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, which, according to the 
American Heart Association, claims the lives of about 330,000 Americans 
every year. The vast majority of these individuals, like Josh, will not 
have displayed any signs of heart trouble beforehand; yet there is an 
easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive piece of medical equipment that can 
more than double the odds of survival for someone experiencing such a 
sudden cardiac arrest.
  An automated external defibrillator, or AED, is the single-most 
effective treatment for starting the heart after sudden cardiac arrest. 
And because chances of survival decrease up to 10 percent for every 
minute that passes, every second is critical.
  It is incredibly important that we take steps to educate the public 
about the life-and-death difference that using these devices would 
make. I would like to thank and to commend my colleague, Mr. Kuhl, for 
his efforts in promoting increased access to AEDs through the 
resolution passed this afternoon. Later this week, I will be 
introducing a piece of legislation that takes another step to increase 
the ability of AEDs in our communities.
  The Josh Miller HEARTS Act will establish a grant program that will 
help schools across the country purchase these lifesaving devices. 
Schools are central gathering places in our communities, and placing 
AEDs in our schools will not only save the lives of students enrolled 
there, potentially, but they will be available for teachers and staff, 
parents and volunteers, and the many other members of the community who 
pass through the halls every single day.
  This legislation will be modeled on a similar program recently 
completed in the State of Ohio. Dr. Terry Gordon, a cardiologist at 
Akron General Hospital, has dedicated his life to this campaign. And 
his tireless efforts in Ohio led to the adoption of a statewide 
initiative to put an AED into every school across the State. Already, 
this program has saved the lives of 12 children and adults as a direct 
result.
  I hope we in Congress can build on Dr. Gordon's good work and carry 
out this program at the national level. Losing a young life full of 
promise, like Josh's, can bring about a sense of helplessness. But 
today, we have an opportunity to act. I urge my colleagues to join me 
in supporting this effort to bring AEDs into every single school across 
this country.

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