[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3997-H3998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 H.R. 1380, THE 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. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of a boy 
from my hometown of Barberton, Ohio. To know Josh Miller was to know a 
kind-hearted and generous young man with limitless potential. Josh was 
a Barberton High School sophomore with a 4.0 grade point average. He 
was a linebacker who dreamed of playing football for Ohio State. He was 
the kind of a kid who could walk into a room and light it up.
  But one day, without warning, his dreams were cut short. Josh never 
showed any signs of heart trouble. But right after 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 
330,000 Americans every year.
  Like Josh, the vast majority of these individuals do not display any 
prior signs of heart trouble. Yet there is an easy-to-use, relatively 
inexpensive piece of medical equipment that more than doubles the odds 
of survival for someone experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. An 
automated external defibrillator, or AED, is the single most effective 
treatment for starting the heart after a sudden cardiac arrest. And 
because the chances of survival decrease by up to 10 percent for every 
minute that passes, every second is critical.
  Last week, I reintroduced the Josh Miller HEARTS Act to increase the 
availability of AEDs in our communities. This bill, H.R. 1380, will 
establish a grant program to help schools across the country purchase 
these lifesaving devices.
  Schools are central gathering places in our communities. Placing AEDs 
in our schools will not only save the lives of the students enrolled 
there, but they will be available for teachers and staff, parents and 
volunteers and the many other members of the community who pass through 
their halls every single day.
  This legislation is modeled on a similar program for the State of 
Ohio. Dr. Terry Gordon, a cardiologist at Akron General Hospital, has 
dedicated his life to this campaign. His tireless efforts in Ohio led 
to the adoption of a statewide initiative to put an AED into every 
school in our State.
  I hope we in Congress can build on Dr. Gordon's good work and carry 
out this program at the national level. Last year, this bill had 100 
cosponsors and passed the House unanimously. To all of my colleagues 
who cosponsored and supported this legislation, thank you, and I urge 
you to cosponsor H.R. 1380. And to all of my colleagues who

[[Page H3998]]

did not cosponsor the bill, I ask for your support in this Congress.
  This bill is endorsed by the Red Cross, the American Heart 
Association, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest 
Association, the International Association of Firefighters, the 
American College of Cardiology, the National Education Association, 
Parent Heart Watch, American Federation of Teachers and the National 
Safety Council. I thank these organizations for their support on this 
issue, and I look forward to working with them on AED awareness.
  Losing a young life 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 because AEDs in schools will 
save lives.

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