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Advocate and member push GEO's Law to let police carry EpiPens through DOJ grants
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Summary
Members presented H.R. 4019 (GEO's Law) to create a DOJ competitive grant to equip and train law enforcement to carry and administer epinephrine, citing a Long Island mother's advocacy after her son's fatal allergic reaction and endorsements from national medical and policing organizations.
A member of Congress and advocate Georgina Coronado asked the Judiciary Committee to back H.R. 4019, known as GEO's Law, which the sponsor said would create a Department of Justice grant program to equip and train law enforcement officers nationwide to carry and administer epinephrine (EpiPens).
The sponsor recounted the death of Giovanni "Gio" Cipriano, a high-school freshman who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction in 2013, and described how Coronado's advocacy led to state-level reforms in New York. The member said roughly "more than 32,000,000 Americans live with life-threatening food allergies," and argued that police are often first on scene and should have the tools to save lives.
The bill would establish competitive grants to help state and local departments offset the cost of epinephrine and would standardize training and provide Good Samaritan safe-harbor protections for officers who administer it. The sponsor said the legislation has endorsements from the National Association of Police Organizations, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and medical associations.
Committee members briefly discussed cost estimates for EpiPens in the room during the exchange. No formal committee action occurred during the member day.
