Section 1 Findings
Congress finds as follows:
Each year, in every corner of the Nation, the 850,000 men and women of emergency medical services answer more than 30,000,000 calls to serve 22,000,000 patients in need of pre-hospital care and comfort at a moment’s notice and without reservation. This commitment to others exemplifies the highest traditions of American spirit.
As an element of the emergency services sector, emergency medical services stands on the Nation’s first line of defense in the prevention and mitigation of risk from terrorist attacks, man-made incidents, and natural disasters. The men and women of emergency medical services, serving in both the public and private sectors as career and volunteer emergency medical service providers, are a critical element of the Nation’s homeland and national security efforts and provide for the domestic tranquility of its citizens.
Statistics compiled by the United States Department of Labor and the National Highway Safety Administration indicate that emergency medical services providers die in the line of duty at a rate more than twice the national average for all occupational fatality and 7 times higher from violence than all other health care workers in service to the Nation.
We as a Nation have historically and continually rely on the selfless and ultimate sacrifice made by more than 600 members of the Nation’s emergency medical services, their families, and loved ones in order to maintain the domestic tranquility, safety, and security of this great Nation.