Life-saving Legislation Gains Momentum in Congress

More than 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest each year in this country. As many of 20,000 of those are young people under the age of 18. Unfortunately, roughly 10% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest survive this traumatic event. When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, the chances of survival increase dramatically if someone nearby performs CPR and uses an available automated external defibrillator (AED).

There are two pieces of bipartisan legislation in congress that would help people who suffer a cardiac arrest in schools by giving school districts more resources to provide CPR training for staff and volunteers, expand access to AEDs and help schools create cardiac emergency response plans. These two pieces of legislation, the Access to AEDs Act in the United States Senate and the HEARTS Act in the House of Representatives, have incredible momentum and we could see a vote on both this summer.

Advocates like you have been working hard to generate support for these policies for years. Specifically, the Access to AEDs Act was proposed 15 months ago and has been steadily gaining support in Congress. In the last month, we’ve seen incredible progress. The Access to AEDs Act has had the number of Senators cosponsoring the legislation increase by almost 75%. In that same time, the HEARTS Act was moved to the House Union Calendar – a procedural move that often indicates the legislation is likely to be brought to a vote in the House of Representatives.

Members of You’re the Cure have sent more than 25,000 messages to Congress in support of these lifesaving policies, and that is having a tremendous impact. Both chambers could take action this summer, but we can’t let up! The lives of children are literally in the balance. We can dramatically increase the chances of survival if a cardiac arrest occurs in school. 10% of people survive a cardiac arrest. In schools with an AED, that number increases to 70%.

We know that a phone call from a constituent can have a major impact; we have seen it over the last month. Click here and call your lawmakers today! Already made a call, or prefer to send an email instead? We know that your federal officials are responding to those as well. You can click here to send them an email.