[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 262 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 262

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to approve and distribute to food 
  service operations instructions for removing food which has become 
                      lodged in a person's throat.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

  Mr. Neal of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to approve and distribute to food 
  service operations instructions for removing food which has become 
                      lodged in a person's throat.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of 
Commerce, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall approve instructions specifying first aid techniques, 
especially the Heimlich Maneuver, designed for use by persons without 
medical training, for removing food which has become lodged in any 
person's throat.
    Sec. 2. (a) The Secretary of Commerce shall publish in the Federal 
Register the instructions approved under the first section of this Act 
and shall distribute the instructions to each food service operation in 
the United States. In distributing the instructions, the Secretary 
shall utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, the resources of the 
Department of Commerce.
    (b) Any food service operation may post the instructions on the 
premises so that persons employed by the food service operation may 
become familiar with the first aid techniques and may consult the 
instructions to provide relief to any person who is choking.
    Sec. 3. No court of the United States shall have jurisdiction to 
enter any judgment against any person for the acts or omissions of any 
individual in removing, attempting to remove, or assisting the removal 
of food lodged in any person's throat if such individual acted in 
accordance with the instructions approved under this Act by the 
Secretary of Commerce.
    Sec. 4. For purposes of this Act, the term ``food service 
operation'' means any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, 
soda fountain, or other facility which is principally engaged in 
selling food or beverages for consumption on the premises.

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