A concurrent resolution supporting the designation of a week as "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week".

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my good friend and colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, in introducing a resolution in support of the designation of a week as National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country. Approximately 325,000 of the 450,000 coronary heart disease deaths that occur annually in the U.S. are due to sudden cardiac arrest suffered outside of the hospital or in hospital emergency departments. About 80 percent of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home, so being properly trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation--or CPR--can mean the difference between life and death for a loved one.

Sudden cardiac arrest in adults is most often caused by an abnormal heart rhythm. While approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital, death from sudden cardiac arrest is not inevitable. Prompt delivery of CPR can more than double an individual's chance of survival by helping to maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain, increasing the window of opportunity in which an electric shock from an automated external defibrillator--or AED--can be effective.

AEDs are easy-to-use, computerized devices that can shock a heart back into normal rhythm and restore life to a cardiac arrest victim. Even when used by an untrained bystander, AEDs are safe and can be highly effective in restoring a normal heart rhythm. They must, however, be used promptly. For every minute that passes before a victim's normal heart rhythm is restored, his or her chance of survival falls by as much as 10 percent.

In 2000, Senator Feingold and I introduced the Rural AED Act to increase access to AEDs for small towns and rural communities where those first on the scene may not be paramedics or others who would normally have AEDs. The Rural AED Act was subsequently signed into law and, since its passage, has provided rural communities with more than $40 million to purchase AEDs. This has greatly increased access to these life-saving devices.

Now it is time to take another step. Increasing the number of Americans who are trained in CPR and AED use will help us to dramatically improve sudden cardiac arrest survival rates. The designation of a week as National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week will complement the campaigns that the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and the National Safety Council are preparing to increase public training in CPR and AED use and to increase public access to AEDs. I therefore urge all of our colleagues to join us as cosponsors of this resolution.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged charged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 54 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.