The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) announced its support of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Reauthorization Act (VGBA), which was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 22 by U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. H.R. 4313 seeks to reauthorize and update 2008 legislation requiring every public pool in the United States to install safe drain covers that prevent suction entrapment, in an effort to decrease drownings in pools and spas. Wasserman Schultz said that there is no work done in Congress that is more important than keeping children healthy and safe.

“The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act did that by saving countless lives over the years. So, it is critical that we continue this bipartisan, common sense law, and as we’re doing now with this reauthorization, expand its life-saving impact,” said Wasserman Schultz.

In addition to requiring safe drain covers, the VGBA allocates funding for grants that can be used for swim lessons, enforcing pool and spa safety laws, as well as educating communities about drowning and entrapment dangers. The legislation also expands program eligibility to non-profit organizations and Indian tribes. If passed, the law would authorize $5 million per year from 2024 to 2029 for use in jurisdictions that have enacted a qualifying minimum swimming pool and spa safety law, such as the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and ANSI/APSP/ ICC-16 American National Standard for Suction Outlet Fitting Assemblies (SOFA) for Use in Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs.

For more information, email Justin Wiley, PHTA Vice President of Government Relations, Standards & Codes, at jwiley@phta.org.