IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1446 

Expressing the importance of swimming lessons and recognizing the danger 

of drowning in the United States, especially among minority children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Mr. SIRES (for himself, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. PASTOR) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the importance of swimming lessons and recognizing the danger of drowning in the United States, 

especially among minority children. 

Whereas the recent success of the United States Olympic 

swim team, including the record-breaking eight gold medals won by Michael Phelps, has brought great attention 

to swimming; 

Whereas a recent New York Times article entitled ‘‘Despite 

Olympic Gold, Swimming Statistics Are Grim’’, highlighted the irony of the United States Olympic glory in 

light of a shocking number of drownings in the United 

States; 

Whereas the New York Times has also highlighted the discrepancies in swimming education between African-AmerVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:22 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1446.IH HR1446

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•HRES 1446 IH 

ican children and White children in the article ‘‘Everyone 

Into the Water’’; 

Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), there were 3,582 unintentional and 

fatal drownings in the United States in 2005 representing an average of 10 drowning deaths each day; 

Whereas for every child who fatally drowns in the United 

States, there are four near-drowning incidents that require emergency care and can lead to brain damage resulting in permanent disabilities ranging from loss of 

memory to the loss of all basic functions; 

Whereas children are the most susceptible to fatal drowning 

incidents with one out of four victims being 14 years old 

or younger; 

Whereas drowning is the second most common unintentional 

cause of death among children ages 1 to 14; 

Whereas minority drowning rates greatly exceed the rates of 

White children; 

Whereas according to the CDC, the fatal drowning rate for 

African-American children between the ages of 5 and 14 

is over three times higher than the rate for White children, and the rate for American Indian and Alaska Native children is over two times higher; 

Whereas according to a recent study by the University of 

Memphis, almost 60 percent of African-American and 

Latino children do not know how to swim as compared 

to roughly 30 percent of White children; 

Whereas long-existing stigmas regarding minorities and 

swimming have contributed to the lack of swimming education in minority communities, and nonswimming minorVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:22 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1446.IH HR1446

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ity families are far less likely than nonswimming White 

families to enroll in swimming lessons; 

Whereas according to the United States Census Bureau, in 

2007, 33.7 percent of African-Americans, 28.6 percent of 

Latinos, and 12.5 percent of Asian-Americans lived below 

the poverty line as compared to 10.1 percent of Whites, 

and swimming lessons can cost hundreds of dollars per 

course; 

Whereas the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act 

was signed into law in December 2007 addressing the 

pressing need for increased pool and spa safety requirements and education to prevent accidental deaths by 

drowning; 

Whereas effective drowning prevention strategies require several approaches such as supervision, fully gated pools, 

CPR training, and swimming skills; 

Whereas the ability to swim is an important and essential 

skill, and according to Safe Kids Worldwide, in order to 

help prevent drowning, children should be enrolled in 

swimming lessons as early as age 4 to learn how to float, 

tread water, and enter and exit the pool; and 

Whereas nonprofit initiatives like Asphalt’s Green Waterproofing program and USA Swimming’s ‘‘Make A 

Splash’’ program, as featured by the New York Times, 

are working hard to meet the need for swimming lessons 

by partnering with local communities to offer all children 

access to swimming education: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 1446 IH 

1 (1) expresses the importance of access to swim2 ming lessons for all communities in the United 

3 States; 

4 (2) recognizes the danger of fatal unintentional 

5 drowning in the United States; 

6 (3) condemns the persistent high rates of fatal 

7 drowning among all children, especially minority 

8 children; 

9 (4) celebrates the passage of the Virginia 

10 Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, and recog11 nizes that swimming lessons represent only one part 

12 of drowning prevention programs; 

13 (5) celebrates the work of initiatives like As14 phalt’s Green Waterproofing program, USA 

15 Swimming’s ‘‘Make A Splash’’, and Safe Kids USA 

16 to educate parents and caregivers on water safety 

17 and drowning prevention messages; and 

18 (6) encourages public and private funding to 

19 support current and future initiatives that provide 

20 all children access to swimming education. 

Æ 


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