106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2498
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide
for recommendations of the Secretary of Health
and Human Services regarding the placement of
automatic external defibrillators in Federal build-
ings in order to improve survival rates of individ-
uals who experience cardiac arrest in such build-
ings, and to establish protections from civil liabil-
ity arising from the emergency use of the devices.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2498
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for
recommendations of the Secretary of Health and Human
Services regarding the placement of automatic external
defibrillators in Federal buildings in order to improve
survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest
in such buildings, and to establish protections from civil
liability arising from the emergency use of the devices.
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 ‘‘Cardiac Arrest Sur-
vival Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Over 700 lives are lost every day to sudden
cardiac arrest in the United States alone.
(2) Two out of every three sudden cardiac
deaths occur before a victim can reach a hospital.
(3) More than 95 percent of these cardiac ar-
rest victims will die, many because of lack of readily
available life saving medical equipment.
(4) With current medical technology, up to 30
percent of cardiac arrest victims could be saved if
victims had access to immediate medical response,
including defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resus-
citation.
(5) Once a victim has suffered a cardiac arrest,
every minute that passes before returning the heart
to a normal rhythm decreases the chance of survival
by 10 percent.
(6) Most cardiac arrests are caused by abnor-
mal heart rhythms called ventricular fibrillation.
Ventricular fibrillation occurs when the heart’s elec-
trical system malfunctions, causing a chaotic rhythm
that prevents the heart from pumping oxygen to the
victim’s brain and body.
(7) Communities that have implemented pro-
grams 
ensuring 
widespread 
public 
access 
to
defibrillators, combined with appropriate training,
maintenance, and coordination with local emergency
medical systems, have dramatically improved the
survival rates from cardiac arrest.
(8) Automated external defibrillator devices
have been demonstrated to be safe and effective,
even when used by lay people, since the devices are
designed not to allow a user to administer a shock
until after the device has analyzed a victim’s heart
rhythm and determined that an electric shock is re-
quired.
(9) Increasing public awareness regarding auto-
mated external defibrillator devices and encouraging
their use in Federal buildings will greatly facilitate
their adoption.
(10) Limiting the liability of Good Samaritans
and acquirers of automated external defibrillator de-
vices in emergency situations may encourage the use
of automated external defibrillator devices, and re-
sult in saved lives.
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES OF SEC-
RETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
REGARDING 
AUTOMATED 
EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS FOR FEDERAL BUILDINGS.
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following section:
‘‘RECOMMENDATIONS
AND
GUIDELINES
REGARDING
AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS FOR FED-
ERAL BUILDINGS
‘‘SEC. 247. (a) GUIDELINES ON PLACEMENT.—The
Secretary shall establish guidelines with respect to placing
automated external defibrillator devices in Federal build-
ings. Such guidelines shall take into account the extent
to which such devices may be used by lay persons, the
typical number of employees and visitors in the buildings,
the extent of the need for security measures regarding the
buildings, buildings or portions of buildings in which there
are special circumstances such as high electrical voltage
or extreme heat or cold, and such other factors as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(b) RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary
shall publish in the Federal Register the recommendations
of the Secretary on the appropriate implementation of the
placement of automated external defibrillator devices
under subsection (a), including procedures for the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(1) Implementing appropriate training courses
in the use of such devices, including the role of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
‘‘(2) Proper maintenance and testing of the de-
vices.
‘‘(3) Ensuring coordination with appropriate li-
censed professionals in the oversight of training of
the devices.
‘‘(4) Ensuring coordination with local emer-
gency medical systems regarding the placement and
incidents of use of the devices.
‘‘(c) CONSULTATIONS; CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN
RECOMMENDATIONS.—In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) consult with appropriate public and private
entities;
‘‘(2) consider the recommendations of national
and local public-health organizations for improving
the survival rates of individuals who experience car-
diac arrest in nonhospital settings by minimizing the
time elapsing between the onset of cardiac arrest
and 
the 
initial 
medical 
response, 
including
defibrillation as necessary; and
‘‘(3) consult with and counsel other Federal
agencies where such devices are to be used.
‘‘(d) DATE CERTAIN
FOR ESTABLISHING GUIDE-
LINES
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall
comply with this section not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act
of 2000.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘automated external defibrillator
device’ has the meaning given such term in section
248.
‘‘(2) The term ‘Federal building’ includes a
building or portion of a building leased or rented by
a Federal agency, and includes buildings on military
installations of the United States.’’.
SEC. 4. GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS REGARDING
EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS.
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act,
as amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding
at the end the following section:
‘‘LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED
EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS
‘‘SEC. 248. (a) GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS RE-
GARDING AEDS.—Except as provided in subsection (b),
any person who uses or attempts to use an automated ex-
ternal defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived med-
ical emergency is immune from civil liability for any harm
resulting from the use or attempted use of such device;
and in addition, any person who acquired the device is im-
mune from such liability, if the harm was not due to the
failure of such acquirer of the device—
‘‘(1) to notify local emergency response per-
sonnel or other appropriate entities of the most re-
cent placement of the device within a reasonable pe-
riod of time after the device was placed;
‘‘(2) to properly maintain and test the device;
or
‘‘(3) to provide appropriate training in the use
of the device to an employee or agent of the acquirer
when the employee or agent was the person who
used the device on the victim, except that such re-
quirement of training does not apply if—
‘‘(A) the employee or agent was not an em-
ployee or agent who would have been reasonably
expected to use the device; or
‘‘(B) the period of time elapsing between
the engagement of the person as an employee or
agent and the occurrence of the harm (or be-
tween the acquisition of the device and the oc-
currence of the harm, in any case in which the
device was acquired after such engagement of
the person) was not a reasonably sufficient pe-
riod in which to provide the training.
‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
IMMUNITY.—Immunity
under subsection (a) does not apply to a person if—
‘‘(1) the harm involved was caused by willful or
criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless mis-
conduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the
rights or safety of the victim who was harmed; or
‘‘(2) the person is a licensed or certified health
professional who used the automated external
defibrillator device while acting within the scope of
the license or certification of the professional and
within the scope of the employment or agency of the
professional; or
‘‘(3) the person is a hospital, clinic, or other en-
tity whose purpose is providing health care directly
to patients, and the harm was caused by an em-
ployee or agent of the entity who used the device
while acting within the scope of the employment or
agency of the employee or agent; or
‘‘(4) the person is an acquirer of the device who
leased the device to a health care entity (or who oth-
erwise provided the device to such entity for com-
pensation without selling the device to the entity),
and the harm was caused by an employee or agent
of the entity who used the device while acting within
the scope of the employment or agency of the em-
ployee or agent.
‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following applies with
respect to this section:
‘‘(A) This section does not establish any
cause of action, or require that an automated
external defibrillator device be placed at any
building or other location.
‘‘(B) With respect to a class of persons for
which this section provides immunity from civil
liability, this section supersedes the law of a
State only to the extent that the State has no
statute or regulations that provide persons in
such class with immunity for civil liability aris-
ing from the use by such persons of automated
external defibrillator devices in emergency situ-
ations (within the meaning of the State law or
regulation involved).
‘‘(C) This section does not waive any pro-
tection from liability for Federal officers or em-
ployees under—
‘‘(i) section 224; or
‘‘(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672, and
2679 of title 28, United States Code, or
under alternative benefits provided by the
United States where the availability of
such benefits precludes a remedy under
section 1346(b) of title 28.
‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The applicability of
subsections (a) and (b) includes applicability to
any action for civil liability described in sub-
section (a) that arises under Federal law.
‘‘(B) FEDERAL
AREAS
ADOPTING
STATE
LAW.—If a geographic area is under Federal
jurisdiction and is located within a State but
out of the jurisdiction of the State, and if, pur-
suant to Federal law, the law of the State ap-
plies in such area regarding matters for which
there is no applicable Federal law, then an ac-
tion for civil liability described in subsection (a)
that in such area arises under the law of the
State is subject to subsections (a) through (c)
in lieu of any related State law that would
apply in such area in the absence of this sub-
paragraph.
‘‘(d) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—In any civil action
arising under State law, the courts of the State involved
have jurisdiction to apply the provisions of this section ex-
clusive of the jurisdiction of the courts of the United
States.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—
‘‘(1) PERCEIVED
MEDICAL
EMERGENCY.—For
purposes of this section, the term ‘perceived medical
emergency’ means circumstances in which the behav-
ior of an individual leads a reasonable person to be-
lieve that the individual is experiencing a life-threat-
ening medical condition that requires an immediate
medical response regarding the heart or other
cardiopulmonary functioning of the individual.
‘‘(2) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of
this section:
‘‘(A) 
The 
term 
‘automated 
external
defibrillator device’ means a defibrillator device
that—
‘‘(i) is commercially distributed in ac-
cordance with the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act;
‘‘(ii) is capable of recognizing the
presence or absence of ventricular fibrilla-
tion, and is capable of determining without
intervention by the user of the device
whether defibrillation should be performed;
‘‘(iii) 
upon 
determining 
that
defibrillation should be performed, is able
to deliver an electrical shock to an indi-
vidual; and
‘‘(iv) in the case of a defibrillator de-
vice that may be operated in either an
automated or a manual mode, is set to op-
erate in the automated mode.
‘‘(B)(i) The term ‘harm’ includes physical,
nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses.
‘‘(ii) The term ‘economic loss’ means any
pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including
the loss of earnings or other benefits related to
employment, medical expense loss, replacement
services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and
loss of business or employment opportunities)
to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed
under applicable State law.
‘‘(iii) The term ‘noneconomic losses’ means
losses for physical and emotional pain, suf-
fering, 
inconvenience, 
physical 
impairment,
mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoy-
ment of life, loss of society and companionship,
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic
service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation
and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or
nature.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2000.
Attest:
Clerk.