II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5155 

To reauthorize the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa 

Safety Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virginia Graeme Baker 

5 Pool and Spa Safety Reauthorization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COVERED ENTITY DEFINED. 

7 Section 1403 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

8 Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 8002) is amended— 

9 (1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol10 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en2 tity’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a State; 

4 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; or 

5 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization.’’; 

6 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

7 (10) as paragraphs (8) through (11), respectively; 

8 and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(7) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

12 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of 

15 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is ex16 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

17 such Code; and 

18 ‘‘(B) has proven experience (as determined 

19 by the Commission) addressing swimming pool 

20 or spa safety and drowning prevention.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. SWIMMING POOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 Section 1405 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

23 Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 8004) is amended to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1405. SWIMMING POOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap3 propriations authorized by subsection (i), the Commission 

4 shall carry out a grant program to provide assistance to 

5 eligible covered entities. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

7 the program, a covered entity shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

9 Commission that, as of the date on which the cov10 ered entity submits an application to the Commis11 sion for a grant under this section, the covered enti12 ty (if the covered entity is a State or an Indian 

13 Tribe), or the State in which or the Indian Tribe in 

14 the jurisdiction of which the covered entity is pro15 posing to carry out activities using grant funds (if 

16 the covered entity is a nonprofit organization), has 

17 enacted and provides for the enforcement of a stat18 ute that— 

19 ‘‘(A) except as provided in section 

20 1406(a)(1)(A)(i), applies to all swimming pools 

21 constructed in the State or in the jurisdiction of 

22 the Indian Tribe (as the case may be) on or 

23 after such date; and 

24 ‘‘(B) meets the minimum State law re25 quirements of section 1406; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) submit an application to the Commission 

2 at such time, in such form, and containing such ad3 ditional information as the Commission may require. 

4 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—In selecting covered entities to 

6 receive grants under the program, the Commission 

7 shall give priority (in such order as the Commission 

8 considers appropriate) based on the following fac9 tors: 

10 ‘‘(A) A covered entity not having pre11 viously been awarded a grant under the pro12 gram. 

13 ‘‘(B) A covered entity proposing to use 

14 grant funds to expand educational activities de15 scribed in paragraph (1)(B)(i) or (2)(A) of sub16 section (e) that the covered entity is carrying 

17 out at the time when the covered entity submits 

18 the application for the grant. 

19 ‘‘(C) A covered entity proposing to use 

20 grant funds to build on prior expertise and ac21 tivities aimed at preventing drownings. 

22 ‘‘(D) A covered entity proposing to use 

23 grant funds to carry out activities in a geo24 graphic area that has a greater number per 

25 capita of drowning or entrapment incidents. 


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1 ‘‘(E) A covered entity proposing to use 

2 grant funds in underserved, minority, or rural 

3 communities to provide services that address 

4 and target racial, ethnic, or rural drowning dis5 parities. 

6 ‘‘(F) Such other factors as the Commission 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In selecting covered 

10 entities to receive grants under the program, 

11 the Commission shall, to the maximum extent 

12 practicable, ensure geographic diversity in the 

13 areas where activities will be carried out using 

14 grant funds. 

15 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—If the 

16 Commission awards grants to two or more cov17 ered entities that will carry out activities using 

18 grant funds in the same geographic area, the 

19 Commission shall provide technical assistance to 

20 such entities regarding how such entities may 

21 collaborate in carrying out such activities. 

22 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Commission shall de23 termine the amount of a grant awarded under this section, 

24 and shall consider— 


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1 ‘‘(1) in the case of a covered entity that is a 

2 State or an Indian Tribe— 

3 ‘‘(A) the population of such State or In4 dian Tribe; 

5 ‘‘(B) the enforcement and implementation 

6 needs of such State or Indian Tribe; or 

7 ‘‘(C) the education needs of such State or 

8 Indian Tribe proposing to use grant funds pur9 suant to subsection (e)(1)(B)(i); 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of a covered entity that is a 

11 nonprofit organization, the number of individuals to 

12 whom such nonprofit organization is proposing to 

13 provide education described in subsection (e)(2)(A) 

14 using grant funds, taking into consideration any in15 creased costs of providing such education due to the 

16 rural or remote nature of the area where such non17 profit organization is proposing to provide such edu18 cation; and 

19 ‘‘(3) allocation of grant funds in a manner de20 signed to provide the maximum benefit from the 

21 program in terms of protecting children from drown22 ing or entrapment. 

23 ‘‘(e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—A State or 

2 an Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this section 

3 shall use— 

4 ‘‘(A) at least 25 percent of amounts made 

5 available— 

6 ‘‘(i) to hire and train personnel for— 

7 ‘‘(I) implementation and enforce8 ment of standards under the swim9 ming pool and spa safety law of the 

10 State or Indian Tribe; and 

11 ‘‘(II) inspecting and repairing or 

12 replacing swimming pool and spa 

13 drain covers to ensure compliance 

14 with applicable Federal, State, and 

15 Tribal law; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) to defray administrative costs as17 sociated with the hiring and training pro18 grams under clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(B) the remainder— 

20 ‘‘(i) to educate pool owners, pool oper21 ators, and other members of the public 

22 about the standards under the swimming 

23 pool and spa safety law of the State or In24 dian Tribe and about the prevention of 


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1 drowning or entrapment of children using 

2 swimming pools and spas; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) to defray administrative costs as4 sociated with the education programs 

5 under clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—A nonprofit 

7 organization receiving a grant under this section 

8 shall use the amounts made available— 

9 ‘‘(A) to educate pool owners, pool opera10 tors, and other members of the public about the 

11 prevention of drowning or entrapment of chil12 dren using swimming pools and spas; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to defray administrative costs associ14 ated with the education programs under sub15 paragraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(f) RECIPIENT REPORTING.—Not later than 90 

17 days after the end of the pool and spa grant program 

18 project period covered by the grants awarded under this 

19 section, each covered entity that received such a grant 

20 shall submit to the Commission a report that includes the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) The amount of grant funds received by the 

23 covered entity. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The purpose or purposes for which the 

2 covered entity proposed to use grant funds in the 

3 grant application of the covered entity. 

4 ‘‘(3) The purpose or purposes for which the 

5 covered entity used grant funds. 

6 ‘‘(4) Whether the purposes identified under 

7 paragraphs (2) and (3) were achieved. 

8 ‘‘(5) Any barriers encountered in carrying out 

9 activities using grant funds. 

10 ‘‘(6) Any best practices or recommendations for 

11 future recipients of grant funds. 

12 ‘‘(7) Any other information requested by the 

13 Commission. 

14 ‘‘(g) GRANT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Commis15 sion shall carry out a campaign to conduct outreach to 

16 covered entities to ensure covered entities are aware of the 

17 availability and importance of the grants under this sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(h) EMPLOYEES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR OF DROWNING PREVENTION.— 

21 The Commission shall have a Director of Drowning 

22 Prevention to coordinate the swimming pool and spa 

23 safety and drowning prevention activities at the 

24 Commission, including carrying out duties under 

25 this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS.—The Commis2 sion shall ensure that more than 1 full-time equiva3 lent is dedicated to carrying out swimming pool and 

4 spa safety and drowning prevention activities at the 

5 Commission, including the grant program under this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

9 each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028 $2,500,000 

10 to carry out this section.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF CPSC EDUCATION AND 

12 AWARENESS PROGRAM. 

13 Section 1407 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

14 Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 8006) is amended to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1407. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish 

18 and carry out an education and awareness program to in19 form the public of methods to prevent drowning and en20 trapment in swimming pools and spas. In carrying out the 

21 program, the Commission shall develop— 

22 ‘‘(1) educational materials designed for swim23 ming pool and spa manufacturers, service compa24 nies, and supply retail outlets, including guidance on 


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1 barrier and drain cover inspection, maintenance, and 

2 replacement; 

3 ‘‘(2) educational materials designed for swim4 ming pool and spa owners and operators, consumers, 

5 States, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit organizations; 

6 ‘‘(3) educational materials designed to reach 

7 historically disadvantaged communities that have 

8 higher rates of drowning than the nationwide aver9 age; and 

10 ‘‘(4) a national media campaign to promote 

11 awareness of swimming pool and spa safety. 

12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

14 each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028 $2,500,000 

15 to carry out the education and awareness program author16 ized by subsection (a).’’. 

17 SEC. 5. CPSC REPORT. 

18 Section 1408 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

19 Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 8007) is amended to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1408. CPSC REPORT. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 last day of each fiscal year for which grants are made 

24 under section 1405, the Commission shall submit to ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:39 Oct 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5155.IS S5155

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1 gress a report evaluating the implementation of the grant 

2 program authorized by that section. 

3 ‘‘(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report re4 quired by subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the 

5 fiscal year covered by the report, the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) How many applicants applied for grants 

7 under the program. 

8 ‘‘(2) For each such applicant— 

9 ‘‘(A) name; 

10 ‘‘(B) location; 

11 ‘‘(C) prior experience in swimming pool or 

12 spa safety; and 

13 ‘‘(D) such other details as the Commission 

14 considers appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(3) How many applicants received grants 

16 under the program and the amount of the grant re17 ceived by each such applicant. 

18 ‘‘(4) How recipients of grants under the pro19 gram were selected and the purposes for which each 

20 such recipient proposed to use grant funds in the 

21 grant application of the recipient. 

22 ‘‘(5) Any purposes, other than making grants 

23 under section 1405, for which the Commission used 

24 amounts appropriated under subsection (i) of such 

25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(6) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

2 program, including any barriers or gaps, and rec3 ommendations for legislative changes, if required to 

4 increase the effectiveness of the program.’’. 

Æ 


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