IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 250
Recognizing community organization of public access defibrillation programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2003
Mr. BROWN of Ohio submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing community organization of public access 
defibrillation programs.
Whereas coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of 
death in the United States; 
Whereas every two minutes, an individual suffers from car-
diac arrest in the United States, and 250,000 Americans 
die each year from cardiac arrest out of hospital; 
Whereas the chance of survival for a victim of cardiac arrest 
diminishes by ten percent each minute following sudden 
cardiac arrest; 
Whereas 80 percent of cardiac arrests are caused by ventric-
ular fibrillation, for which defibrillation is the only effec-
tive treatment; 
Whereas 60 percent of all cardiac arrests occur outside the 
hospital, and the average national survival rate for an
•HCON 250 IH 
out-of-hospital victim of cardiac arrest is only five per-
cent; 
Whereas automated external defibrillators (AEDs) make it 
possible for trained non-medical rescuers to deliver poten-
tially life-saving defibrillation to victims of cardiac arrest; 
Whereas public access defibrillation (PAD) programs train 
non-medical individuals to use AEDs; 
Whereas communities that have established and implemented 
PAD programs that make use of AEDs have achieved av-
erage survival rates as high as 50 percent for those indi-
viduals who have suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac ar-
rest; 
Whereas successful PAD programs ensure that cardiac arrest 
victims have access to early 911 notification, early 
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation, and 
advanced care; 
Whereas schools, sports arenas, large hotels, concert halls, 
high-rise buildings, gated communities, buildings subject 
to high-security, and similar facilities can benefit greatly 
from the use of AEDs as part of a PAD program, since 
it often takes additional and therefore critical time for 
emergency medical personnel to respond to victims of car-
diac arrest in these areas; 
Whereas according to the American Heart Association, wide-
spread use of defibrillators could save as many as 50,000 
lives nationally each year; 
Whereas the Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 (Public 
Law 105–170; 49 U.S.C. 44701 note) authorized AEDs 
to be carried and used aboard commercial airliners; 
Whereas the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2000 (Public 
Law 106–505; 42 U.S.C. 238p–238q) and the Rural Ac-
•HCON 250 IH 
cess to Emergency Devices Act (Public Law 106–505, 42 
U.S.C. 254c note) provided for the placement of AEDs 
in Federal office buildings and increased access to AEDs 
in rural communities; 
Whereas the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation 
Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–188; 42 U.S.C. 244–245) 
authorized the development and implementation of PAD 
projects; 
Whereas the Automatic Defibrillation in Adam’s Memory Act 
(presented to the President for his signature on June 20, 
2003) authorizes the use of grant funds to establish an 
information clearinghouse to provide information to in-
crease public access to defibrillation in schools; and 
Whereas Summit County, Ohio serves as an inspiring model 
for communities across the United States by providing 
access to AEDs in all of the county’s 59 middle and high 
schools, in 47 city buildings and community centers, in 
17 police departments, and in seven buildings at the Uni-
versity of Akron: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress—
(1) recognizes the growing number of commu-
nity activists, organizations, and municipal govern-
ments leading the national effort to establish public 
access defibrillation (PAD) programs; and 
(2) encourages the continued development and 
implementation of PAD programs in schools, sports 
arenas, large hotels, concert halls, high-rise build-
ings, gated communities, buildings subject to high-