Two and a half years ago, on a hot June day, 7-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker, granddaughter of former Secretary of State, James Baker, went with her mother, Nancy, and four sisters to a family friend's home for a graduation party. At that party, Graeme, as she was affectionately known, drowned after becoming suctioned to the hot tub's drain, which fatally trapped her underwater. The Baker family tragedy is a painful example of the need for national pool safety legislation. 

Drowning is the second leading cause of childhood deaths by injury in the United States.  Across the nation, 335 children drowned in swimming pools or spas in 2002. That is 335 lives that were cut very short because we didn't act quickly enough to address this problem.  The victims go beyond these 335 children - the victims include the parents and families left to grieve in the traumatic aftermath of the preventable loss of a child. It couldn't be MORE CLEAR that something CAN and MUST be done.

Here in Florida, pools are as common as palm trees, and drowning holds the gruesome distinction as the leading cause of accidental death among our youngest children.  During my time in the Florida Legislature, I introduced and passed the Preston de Ibern/McKenzie Merriam Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act of 2000. The law was named for two beautiful children, Preston de Ibern, who was five years old at the time of his near-drowning and Merriam McKenzie, who was just eighteen months old when she drowned.  

Safety issues, however, are not just the primary responsibility of state and local governments and we simply cannot legislate supervision.  We must implement national standards to replace the haphazard safety measures that allowed Graeme, and thousands of children like her, to be lost in such nightmare scenarios.

Since my election to Congress, developing national comprehensive pool and spa safety legislation has been one of my top priorities.  Now, I am proud to announce that on Tuesday, May 9, I will introduce the Pool and Spa Safety Act in the 109^th Congress.  This legislation would provide states with the funding and technical assistance needed to establish and enforce proven pool safety guidelines. 

While this legislation does not mandate that states adopt pool safety measures, it does offer them incentives to do so by providing federal grants to those states that require barriers such as fences to be erected around swimming pools and the installation of anti-drain entrapment devices to protect against suction entrapment drowning. My legislation specifically addresses and requires "layers of protection" - the best way to prevent drowning. 

The first layer calls for the installation of physical barriers around the pool to limit access.  This barrier should be a fence, at least 4-feet high, with self-closing and self-latching gates.  The second layer of protection calls for swimming pools to be equipped with a suction outlet drain cover. These devices prevent hair and body entanglement.  The third layer requires installing a safety vacuum release system. This device automatically shuts off a pump if a blockage is detected. While most new pools come equipped with this system, there is no similar protection for the millions of in-ground pools in the United States with single-main drains and aging drain covers.

Finally, we all know that the most effective barrier is supervision, public education and awareness.  Thus, the legislation directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to conduct a public education program.  As pool safety advocates, we must carry the message that drowning is preventable and that the most effective preventive measure anyone can take is - ACTIVE SUPERVISION.

We will never know how many lives we may save or how many near-drownings we prevent, but we do know that we can prevent the heartbreak of countless parents. That alone is worth the effort.

I urge you to not wait another day. please check over this list and make sure that your pool or spa are safe for your family and the children of those who live around you.

Pool and Spa Equipment Checklist

For Pool and Hot Tub Owners

BARRIERS:

* Erect fencing at least four feet high on all sides of the pool. For large inflatable pools, a mesh or removable fence may be an option.

* Install self-closing, self-latching gates on your fence.

* Use a latch that can be locked with a key and lock the gate when the pool or hot tub area is

not in use.

* Do not prop the gate open.

* Make sure to keep the gate in proper working order.

* When a hot tub is not in use, secure it with a locked cover.

* Place alarms on doors and windows with access to the pool or hot tub area.

* Keep a shepherd's hook, life ring, telephone and other lifesaving equipment by the pool or hot tub.

ENTRAPMENT PROTECTION:

* Install anti-entrapment drain covers.

* Equip your pump with a safety vacuum release system (SVRS), an emergency sensor that shuts

off the suction automatically if the drain is blocked.

* For new pools or hot tubs, install at least two drains.

* Replace drain covers immediately if they are broken or damaged.

Your questions, thoughts, and concerns are important to me. Please do not hesitate to let me know of any problems or issues you consider significant.  Feel free to contact my offices in Broward at 954-437-3936, in Miami-Dade at 305-936-5724, or in Washington, D.C. at 202-225-7931.

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