The U.S. House of Representatives has established a grant program with the Department of Education to provide schools with funding for Automated External Defibrillators.

Rep. Betty Sutton, D-OH, first brought the Josh Miller HEARTS (Helping Everyone Access Responsible Treatment in Schools) Act to Congress in December.
Sutton's hometown is Barberton, OH, where Josh Miller, a 15-year-old high school student, died of cardiac arrest while playing football for his school's team. Unfortunately, paramedics who arrived with an AED were unable to resuscitate him.

The HEARTS Act aims to reduce the number of American children who could suffer a similar fate, by supplying schools with AEDs and training staff to use them. AEDs, according to Sutton, are the single most effective treatment for those suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

By ensuring that schools have access to these lifesaving devices needless deaths in communities across the country will hopefully be prevented. The program will cost $220 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office.