Next action expected on June 12
Thanks to support from the Ad Hoc Coalition to Save Lives through Public Access to Defibrillation, the health appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), approved its bill for 2015, which contains a $2 million increase for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices Program. The program, which is designed to save lives of those who suffer from cardiac arrest, would receive a 60 percent increase, taking it from its current funding level of $3.356 million to $5.356 million.
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation is a member of the Coalition, and Foundation members--including survivors--were among those who contacted Sen. Harkin and his colleagues, expressing their support for the legislation.
This important Senate Subcommittee action is just the first step in a long congressional appropriations process. Next, the bill will be considered by the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, June 12.. Generally, the full Committee rubber stamps the subcommittee’s action. Then it must be approved by the House of Representatives. Subsequently, if there is a difference in proposed funding levels between the recommendations of the House and the Senate, they must resolve the differences before the bill is signed into law by the President.
SOURCE: American Heart Association