For Immediate Release
Contact: Gordon Hinkle

October 23, 2007
Phone: (916) 786-5560

Doolittle Introduces Legislation to Protect Air Emergency Medical Crew

WASHINGTON, DC - Representative John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville) introduced
legislation today that would increase safety conditions for patients and
medical crew on board emergency medical aircrafts.

³I am pleased to introduce bipartisan legislation today that will increase
safety for all those on board an aircraft providing emergency medical
services,² Doolittle stated. ³By enacting this legislation, we will not only
honor the remarkable sacrifices of those who gave their lives while trying
to save others, but in their honor we will also prevent similar tragedies
from occurring in the future.²

Under current law, an emergency medical crew is permitted to fly under
reduced safety standards when there is no patient or organ on board. This
has resulted in an increasing number of fatal accidents. The legislation
introduced by Representative Doolittle would apply the same safety standards
to all emergency medical flights, improving safety conditions for all on
board. The bill also directs the Federal Aviation Administration to initiate
rules which would implement further safety measures. Representative
Doolittle introduced this bill with the support of Representative John
Salazar (D-CO).

Congressman Doolittle has worked on this issue with the family of Erin
Reed, a former California firefighter and flight nurse who died when her
helicopter lost control in inclement weather conditions after delivering a
patient to a nearby hospital. Erin¹s family has joined a coalition of
friends and family members who have lost loved ones in a medical flight.
Their efforts are devoted to making air medical transports safer for the
flight crew and patients who take to the skies for emergency medical care.

"My family and I appreciate Mr. Doolittle's efforts to protect flight
crews and passengers from flying in unsafe conditions. This bill won't bring
Erin back, but it can save the many flight crews that die every year in
preventable aviation accidents," said Stacey Friedman, sister of Erin Reed.

# # # U.S. Rep. John T. Doolittle has served in the House of
Representatives since 1991. The 4th Congressional District stretches from
the eastern Sacramento Region to Lake Tahoe on the south and runs up the
Sierra Nevada range to the high desert of Modoc County on the Oregon border
in the north. It encompasses the entire counties of El Dorado, Lassen,
Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra. Additionally, it includes the
community of Orangevale in Sacramento County and the Oroville area in Butte
County.