Wasserman Schultz Lauds New Grant Funding to Help Prevent Child Drownings

Washington, DC, February 2, 2015
The community of stakeholders working to prevent drownings may never know how many lives we save by preventing drowning, but we know measures such as this will make a difference and will prevent families from experiencing untold and wholly preventable heartbreak.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today a call for grant applications for a first-of-its-kind Pool Safely Grant Program (PSGP) for both state and local governments, providing them $1 million in grants in Fiscal Year 2015 to reduce deaths and injuries from drowning and drain entrapments in pools and spas. 
The PSGP focuses its assistance in areas of education, training, and enforcement of pool safety requirements, and is part of CPSC’s national effort to make drowning and drain entrapment prevention a critical public safety priority.
The grant program is authorized through the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, (VGB Act), which was originally authored in the House by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007. 
“I’m thrilled that the grant mechanism of the VGB Act is ready to be implemented, so communities nationwide can bolster their efforts to improve safety and prevent drownings and near-drownings,” said Wasserman Schultz. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I have fought hard to ensure that funding would be provided for this critical, life-saving grant program. I thank the Consumer Product Safety Commission for their ongoing leadership in helping save more kids.
“The community of stakeholders working to prevent drownings may never know how many lives we save by preventing drowning, but we know measures such as this will make a difference and will prevent families from experiencing untold and wholly preventable heartbreak,” Wasserman Schultz added. 
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