Cliff Stearns: “I would just conclude by telling a quick story of a good and close friend of mine. He and his wife are a member of our…”

“I would just conclude by telling a quick story of a good and close friend of mine. He and his wife are a member of our church, and they have four children. He was in his early 60s and he went to the golf course. As my colleagues know, in Florida there are lots of golf courses; and people are there all the time. It was in the morning, and he was playing golf when suddenly he had a cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, there was not an automated external defibrillator there. He died. And I felt it was very sad for he and his family, and that made the commitment on my part and the people who supported this bill even stronger to get this through the House. Of course, after it is approved by the Senate it will then go to the President to be signed. So I think it is a great day for all the organizations that have supported us, been with us for these many, many years as we have garnered support and attempted to convince our colleagues that, one, the good Samaritan clause was innocuous, that there was nothing to worry about; that much like fire extinguishers the day has come for automated external defibrillators. We need to have these not only in the public Federal buildings but all the local buildings.”