Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), John Carter (TX-31), and Donald Norcross (NJ-01) re-introduced the bipartisan Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety (VGB) Reauthorization Act to help decrease preventable drownings.

Drownings and near-drownings in pools and spas pose a significant public health risk to our nation’s children. These water-safety fatalities remain the leading cause of unintentional death for children ages one to four, with higher incidents of drowning deaths for American Indian and Black individuals. However, we are not powerless to prevent these tragedies. Strong education, awareness, and enforcement efforts help make children safer around the water and save lives.

“No work we do in Congress is more important than keeping our children healthy and safe. And the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act does that by saving countless lives over the years. So, it is critical that we continue this bipartisan, common-sense law, which this reauthorization does by expanding its life-saving impact,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Just this year in my home state we’ve seen over 60 drownings, which is more incidents than at this same time last year. But with education and added layers of protection we can keep more innocent children safe. This law does that by helping decrease drowning in pools and spas, a concern on every parent’s mind as the summer season and water activities pick up. Let’s keep our kids safe with sensible outreach, education, and precautions.” 

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act has saved many lives since 2008 by helping to prevent drownings through stronger safety standards and public education,” said Carter. “Now, with summer in full swing and families spending more time at the pool, reauthorizing this law is more important than ever. We should all want our children to be safe around the pool, and this bill is a smart, bipartisan way to protect them. I thank my colleague Rep. Wasserman Schultz for her advocacy on this issue, and I hope my colleagues will support.”

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is a common-sense bill that has already saved countless lives. It's a great example of when a policy works the way it was intended. The results speak for themselves since there haven't been any entrapment deaths in public pools since the legislation was enacted,” said Norcross. “That's why I'm honored to cosponsor this bill's reauthorization to continue ensuring our pools install safe drain covers and, most importantly, save lives.”

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB), first authorized in 2008, is aimed at improving the safety of all pools and spas by increasing the layers of protection and promoting uninterrupted supervision to prevent child drowning and entrapment. The law has three principal elements, carried out by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):

1. First, it requires every public pool in the US to install safe drain covers that prevent suction entrapment.

2.     Second, it initiates a grant program that incentivizes states, municipalities, and Indian Tribes to adopt their own pool and spa safety laws and support education efforts.  These grants provide critical support for local officials to enforce their safety requirements and educate communities about drowning and entrapment dangers.

1. Third, it launches “Pool Safely,” a national public education campaign to raise awareness about drowning prevention.

The VGB Reauthorization Act will continue to carry out these primary functions as it builds on over a decade’s worth of expertise in proper execution of the programs through the CPSC.

Click here for full bill text.

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act is a perfect example of how sensible and sound policy can save lives. Since the passage of the legislation, entrapment deaths in public pools have ceased and have been substantially reduced in private pool settings. This shows how well-designed legislation can have direct impacts on child safety and engineer our pool environments to be safer for all. The reauthorization not only ensures communities continue to be safe from this preventable tragedy, but also that water safety efforts will continue across the country to address the more than 4,000 fatal drownings the US experiences each year,” said Alissa Magrum, Executive Director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA).

“The passage of the VGB Act, in a significant way, has helped to make some sense of the tragic death of my daughter, Graeme, and so many children whose lives have been lost in preventable drownings. The reauthorization of the legislation also makes sense, as we have learned over the past 15 years what works well and what might be done even better to ensure water safety.  I am fully support of the bill,” said Nancy Baker, mother of Virginia Graeme Baker and water safety advocate.

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act has saved lives. Reauthorization of this Act allows for its proven safety standards to continue to do its good work, making pools and spas across the United States safer for those who use them. This legislative intervention creates actions and outcomes that those working in public health so often hope to see. It works! The associated Pool Safely funding mechanism is also an essential piece and has been effective in keeping the message of water safety top of mind. The American Red Cross fully supports this reauthorization and all efforts to reduce drownings across the country,” said William Ramos, Ph.D., American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council Aquatics Chair.

“On behalf of the nation’s YMCAs, which operate more than 2,100 pools across the country, YMCA of the USA strongly supports the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Reauthorization Act. As the largest provider of swim instruction in the country, the Y greatly appreciates the inclusion of nonprofits in the act’s Swimming Pool Safety Grant Program, which creates opportunities for community-based organizations like YMCAs to secure additional resources to raise awareness about drowning prevention and make swim instruction more accessible to those who need it,” said Suzanne McCormick, President and CEO, YMCA of the USA.

“Our daughter Abbey's hope was that no other child would experience a death or injury from a dangerous pool or spa.  The VGB act was the realization of that hope.  We can all still do better with the reauthorization of this critical safety legislation.  We unequivocally support this bill,” said Scott and Katey Taylor, founders of Abbey's Hope Charitable Foundation.

“The core purpose of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is to prioritize safety and health in pool and hot tub environments. We have been unwavering in our support for the reauthorization of the VGB Act, recognizing its significant impact on saving lives. PHTA is proud to play a role in the VGB Act through the development of two industry safety standards that establish stringent requirements for suction outlet fitting assemblies and suction entrapment avoidance. By reauthorizing this legislation, we will ensure a substantial reduction in fatal drownings—a cause that deserves universal backing,” said Sabeena Hickman, CAE, President & CEO of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA).

“The VGB Act, passed only five months after our son Zachary's death, brought a semblance of peace and hope to our family. That no one has died by entrapment in a public pool since the VGB Act was passed is a victory that we should all celebrate but, there is more work to be done. Even now, sixteen years later, we are seeing recalls on drains that aren’t compliant. The reauthorization of this bill is vital to our communities and will ensure that all public pools comply with entrapment prevention requirements and will support efforts to address traditional forms of drowning. Our family and the ZAC Foundation for Children's Safety, founded in our son's honor, are committed to the success of this bill,” said Karen and Brian Cohn, founders of ZAC Foundation.

“CamerEye has always been a vocal leader in advocating for safe aquatic environments—they are absolutely critical to industry. Not only does Virginia Graeme Baker Act reiterate the requirement for safe and compliant drain covers, it incentivizes state, local, and Tribal jurisdictions to implement and enforce swimming pool and spa safety standards which has been proven to save lives. This act is a perfect example of how policy can positively impact saving lives and this reauthorization represents a chance to build on that success. We're in full support of this reauthorization act.” said Sai Reddy, founder/CEO of CamerEye.ai.

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Act is a shining example of how good policy can save lives, and this reauthorization represents a chance to build on that success. This is also an opportunity to address the serious and persistent inequities that exist around water safety,” said Safe Kids Worldwide President Torine Creppy.

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