SENATE REPUBLICANS FAIL TO OVERRIDE GOV’S VETO ON LIFE-SAVING MEASURE
Republicans ignore bipartisan work in committee for common sense lifesaving measure
AUGUSTA–In a vote of 22—13, Republican lawmakers in the Maine Senate failed to overturn Governor LePage’s veto of a measure that will train high school students in life-saving techniques including CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators.
“I am disappointed that some lawmakers couldn’t stand up to the Governor’s do-nothing political maneuver. This measure would have and could have saved lives,” said Senator David Dutremble of Biddeford, a co-sponsor of the measure.
Senator Dutremble, who also works as an Emergency Medical Technician and a Lieutenant Firefighter with the Biddeford Fire Department added, “Too often, by the time a 9-1-1 call is made, it can be too late. The bottom line here is that if more people know how to perform CPR, more lives will be saved.”
The American Heart Association recently released a study that shows that survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest vary, and that these rates are influenced by the willingness and ability of bystanders to perform CPR. Research indicates that for every 30 bystanders that perform CPR, one life is saved. But only 40 percent of bystanders actually do it.
“This is a simple, cost-free way to save lives,” said Senator Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth. “This is about empowering our youth–to help them not feel helpless when someone else is in distress. In less time than one class period, students can learn how to save a life–perhaps the life of someone they love.”
The training would be designed so it would not require additional expenditures from local revenues.
The House overrode the governor’s veto yesterday in a 125-18 vote.
The bill, LD 1366, “An Act to Require Students To Receive Instruction in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the Use of an Automated External Defibrillator prior to Graduation,” is sponsored by Representative Anne Graham (D-North Yarmouth) and will receive no further legislative action.
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