Congress passes pool safety law shepherded by Rep. Wasserman Schultz of Weston. $29 million allotted for education and grants to the states

WASHINGTON – Using Florida as a model, Congress approved the first national pool-safety legislation on Tuesday to educate the public and encourage states to require enclosure fences, modern drains and other safety devices to prevent drowning and injury.

“We know there will be children who won’t drown now because we passed this bill,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who shepherded the bill through Congress. “We know we will save parents a lot of heartache and kids from losing their lives or many years of trauma and health-care costs because of injuries suffered in pool accidents.”

The provisions were adopted without controversy as part of an energy bill passed by the House and Senate. Bush is expected to sign the bill into law.

The legislation was named in honor of 7-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker, who drowned in 2002 after being trapped in the suction of a whirlpool. Her grandfather, former presidential adviser James Baker, lobbied Congress to pass the safety provisions.

About 335 children died from pool accidents in 2004, Wasserman Schultz’s office reported.

The legislation authorizes $29 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to implement the law. About $25 million is authorized for 2008-2012 to educate the public, installers, local officials, pool and spa owners.

Another $4 million in 2009 and 2010 would fund grants to states that pass laws requiring installation of fences around pools, drain covers to prevent hair and body entanglement and safety vacuum release systems that shut off pumps if a blockage is detected.

Florida, which adopted a similar pool safety law in 2000, would need to revise it to comply with the new federal drain requirements.

The Pool Safety Consortium, a group of companies that makes safety devices, applauded passage of the bill and said it would help reverse erosion of building codes in Florida that fail to require adequate drains to prevent drowning. The group contends that pool-makers persuaded state officials to relax codes set by the 2000 law.

“This would restore the layers of protection that once were part of the Florida law,” said Paul Pennington, a founding member of the consortium.

Copyright 2007