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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cess to defibrillation in public elementary schools and 
secondary schools. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to AEDs Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Heart disease is the leading cause of death 
in the United States. 
(2) Sudden cardiac arrest (referred to in this 
section as ‘‘SCA’’) is a life-threatening emergency 
that is caused by a malfunction in the heart’s elec-
trical system or structure, which is caused by an ab-
normality from birth or one that develops over time. 
(3) Studies show that 1 in 300 youth has an 
undetected heart condition that puts them at risk. 
(4) SCA is the leading cause of death for stu-
dent athletes. 
(5) Sports-related SCA account for 39 percent 
of SCAs among children 18 years old or younger. 
(6) In 2018, there were nearly 394,000 sudden 
cardiac arrests that occurred in the United States, 
with 9 out of 10 being fatal. Only 1 in 10 victims 
survive a sudden cardiac arrest. 
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(7) An estimated 7,000 to 23,000 young people 
are stricken by SCA annually. 
(8) The American Heart Association estimates 
that 5 in 10 victims of SCA could survive if bystand-
ers gave CPR and used an AED immediately. 
(9) The chain of survival includes prompt noti-
fication of emergency services and early CPR, 
defibrillation, and advanced cardiac life support. 
(10) Health education should include basic 
emergency lifesaving skills. Incorporating these life-
saving training programs into the health curriculum 
of public elementary and secondary schools will give 
children and youth these skills. 
SEC. 
3. 
PROMOTING 
STUDENT 
ACCESS 
TO 
DEFIBRILLATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 
to eligible entities to develop and implement a comprehen-
sive program to promote student access to defibrillation 
in public elementary schools and secondary schools. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under subsection (a) may use funds received 
through such grant to carry out any of the following activi-
ties: 
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(1) Developing and providing comprehensive 
materials to establish AED and CPR programs in 
public elementary schools and secondary schools. 
(2) Providing support for CPR and AED train-
ing programs in such schools for students, staff, and 
related sports volunteers. 
(3) Providing support for developing a cardiac 
emergency response plan within such schools. 
(4) Purchasing AEDs that have been approved 
under section 515 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360e), cleared under sec-
tion 510(k) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 360(k)), or au-
thorized under section 513(f)(2) of such Act (21 
U.S.C. 360c(f)(2)). 
(5) Purchasing necessary AED batteries and 
performing necessary AED maintenance (such as by 
replacing AED pads) in accordance with the labeling 
of the AED involved. 
(6) Replacing old and outdated AED and CPR 
equipment, machinery, and educational materials. 
(7) Fostering new and existing community part-
nerships with and among local educational agencies, 
nonprofit organizations, public health organizations, 
emergency medical service providers, fire and police 
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departments, and parent-teacher associations to pro-
mote the importance of defibrillation in such schools. 
(8) Aiding school athletic departments to screen 
student athletes for risk of sudden cardiac arrest, 
consistent with guidelines of the American Heart As-
sociation and the American College of Cardiology. 
(9) Further developing strategies to improve ac-
cess to AEDs in such schools. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a 
grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 
(1) be a local educational agency (including a 
public charter school operating as a local educational 
agency under State law), in consultation with a 
qualified health care entity; and 
(2) submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
(d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es-
tablish a clearinghouse database— 
(1) to collect and make available information, 
including through voluntary reporting by local edu-
cational agencies, State educational agencies, and 
manufacturers, 
relating 
to 
student 
access 
to 
defibrillation in public elementary schools and sec-
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ondary schools, including with respect to the costs of 
providing AEDs and CPR training; and 
(2) to gather information in a central location 
to facilitate research regarding sudden cardiac arrest 
in the pediatric population. 
(e) REPORTS.— 
(1) BY GRANTEE.—Not later than 4 years after 
receipt of a grant under this section, the recipient of 
the grant shall submit to the Secretary a report that 
describes the activities carried out with funds re-
ceived through the grant. 
(2) BY SECRETARY.—Not later than one year 
after receiving the reports required by paragraph 
(1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
and the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
of the House of Representatives a consolidated eval-
uation of the activities carried out pursuant to 
grants under this section. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘AED’’ means an automated ex-
ternal defibrillator; 
(2) the term ‘‘CPR’’ means cardiopulmonary 
resuscitation; 
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(3) the terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 
meanings given to such terms in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801); 
(4) the term ‘‘qualified health care entity’’ 
means a health care entity that— 
(A) is— 
(i) a public entity; or 
(ii) an organization that is described 
in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 
under section 501(a) of such Code; 
(B) demonstrates an ability to develop, 
train, and implement a comprehensive program 
to promote student access to defibrillation in el-
ementary and secondary schools; and 
(C) is qualified in providing technical as-
sistance in AED and CPR training; and 
(5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 
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$25,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 
2028. 
Æ 
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