I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6523 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 

to a local educational agency or private elementary or secondary school, 

partnered with a public or nonprofit private health care entity, to develop 

and implement a comprehensive program to promote student access to 

defibrillation in elementary schools and secondary schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2022 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. POSEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COSTA, Ms. DEAN, Ms. ROSS, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Education and Labor, 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 a local educational agency or private 

elementary or secondary school, partnered with a public 

or nonprofit private health care entity, to develop and 

implement a comprehensive program to promote student 

access to defibrillation in elementary schools and secondary schools. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to AEDs Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 The Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Heart disease is the leading cause of death 

6 in the United States. 

7 (2) Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a life8 threatening emergency that is caused by a malfunc9 tion in the heart’s electrical system or structure, 

10 which is caused by an abnormality from birth or one 

11 that develops over time. 

12 (3) Studies show that 1 in 300 youth has an 

13 undetected heart condition that puts them at risk. 

14 (4) SCA is the leading cause of death for stu15 dent athletes. 

16 (5) Sports-related SCA accounted for 39 per17 cent of SCAs among children 18 years old or young18 er. 

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 (7) An estimated 7,000 to 23,000 young people 

24 are stricken by SCA annually. 


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1 (8) The American Heart Association estimates 

2 that 5 in 10 victims of SCA could survive if bystand3 ers gave CPR and used an AED immediately. 

4 (9) The chain of survival includes prompt noti5 fication of emergency services and early CPR, 

6 defibrillation, and advanced cardiac life support. 

7 (10) Health education should include basic 

8 emergency lifesaving skills. Incorporating these life9 saving training programs into the health curriculum 

10 of elementary and secondary schools will give school 

11 children these skills. 

12 SEC. 3. PROMOTING STUDENT ACCESS TO 

13 DEFIBRILLATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall award grants to local educational 

16 agencies and private elementary and secondary schools, in 

17 partnership with a public or nonprofit private health care 

18 entity, to develop and implement a comprehensive pro19 gram to promote student access to defibrillation in elemen20 tary schools and secondary schools by— 

21 (1) developing and providing comprehensive ma22 terials to establish AED and CPR programs in such 

23 schools; 


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1 (2) providing support for CPR and AED train2 ing programs in such schools for students, staff, and 

3 related sports volunteers; 

4 (3) providing support for developing a cardiac 

5 emergency action plan within such schools; 

6 (4) purchasing AEDs that have been approved, 

7 or cleared for marketing, by the Food and Drug Ad8 ministration; 

9 (5) purchasing necessary AED batteries and 

10 performing necessary AED maintenance according 

11 to AED manufacturers; 

12 (6) replacing old and outdated AED and CPR 

13 equipment, machinery, and educational materials; 

14 (7) fostering new and existing community part15 nerships with and among local educational agencies, 

16 private schools, nonprofit organizations, public 

17 health organizations, emergency medical service pro18 viders, fire and police departments, and parent19 teacher associations to promote the importance of 

20 defibrillation in elementary and secondary schools; 

21 (8) aiding school athletic departments seeking 

22 to develop programs to screen student athletes for 

23 risk of sudden cardiac arrest; and 

24 (9) further developing strategies to improve ac25 cess to AEDs in elementary and secondary schools. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 

2 subsection (a), a local educational agency or a private ele3 mentary or secondary school shall submit an application 

4 to the Secretary— 

5 (1) at such time, in such manner, and con6 taining such information as the Secretary may rea7 sonably require; and 

8 (2) in partnership with a public or private non9 profit health care entity that— 

10 (A) demonstrates an ability to develop, 

11 train, and implement a comprehensive program 

12 to promote student access to defibrillation in el13 ementary and secondary schools; and 

14 (B) is qualified in providing technical as15 sistance in AED and CPR training. 

16 (c) CLEARINGHOUSE.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es18 tablish a clearinghouse database— 

19 (1) to collect and make available information, 

20 including through voluntary reporting by local edu21 cational agencies, schools, and manufacturers, relat22 ing to student access to defibrillation in elementary 

23 schools and secondary schools, including with respect 

24 to the costs of providing AEDs and CPR training; 

25 and 


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1 (2) to gather information in a central location 

2 to facilitate research regarding sudden cardiac arrest 

3 in the pediatric population. 

4 (d) REPORTS.— 

5 (1) BY GRANTEE.—Not later than 4 years after 

6 receipt of a grant under this section, the recipient of 

7 the grant shall submit to the Secretary a report that 

8 describes the activities carried out with funds re9 ceived through the grant. 

10 (2) BY SECRETARY.—Not later than one year 

11 after receiving the reports required by paragraph 

12 (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

13 congressional committees a consolidated evaluation 

14 of the activities carried out pursuant to grants under 

15 this section. 

16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘AED’’ means an automated ex18 ternal defibrillator. 

19 (2) The term ‘‘CPR’’ means cardiopulmonary 

20 resuscitation. 

21 (3) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu22 cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 

23 meanings given to such terms in section 8101 of the 

24 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

2 of Health and Human Services. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

4 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

5 $1,800,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 

6 2027. 

Æ 


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