I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5202 

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

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2023 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. ALLRED, 

Mr. BURGESS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. 

GARCIA of Texas, Mr. FLOOD, Ms. ROSS, Mr. BACON, and Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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— 


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1 (1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(4) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en4 tity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a State; 

6 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; or 

7 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization.’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

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

10 and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol12 lowing: 

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

14 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization 

15 that— 

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

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is ex18 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

19 such Code; and 

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

21 by the Commission) addressing swimming pool 

22 or spa safety and drowning prevention.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. SWIMMING POOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 Section 1405 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

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

4 follows: 

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

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap7 propriations authorized by subsection (i), the Commission 

8 shall carry out a grant program to provide assistance to 

9 eligible covered entities. 

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

11 the program, a covered entity shall— 

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

13 Commission that, as of the date on which the cov14 ered entity submits an application to the Commis15 sion for a grant under this section, the covered enti16 ty (if the covered entity is a State or an Indian 

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

18 the jurisdiction of which the covered entity is pro19 posing to carry out activities using grant funds (if 

20 the covered entity is a nonprofit organization), has 

21 enacted and provides for the enforcement of a stat22 ute that— 

23 ‘‘(A) except as provided in section 

24 1406(a)(1)(A)(i), applies to all swimming pools 

25 constructed in the State or in the jurisdiction of 


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

2 after such date; and 

3 ‘‘(B) meets the minimum State law re4 quirements of section 1406; and 

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

6 at such time, in such form, and containing such ad7 ditional information as the Commission may require. 

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

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

10 receive grants under the program, the Commission 

11 shall give priority (in such order as the Commission 

12 considers appropriate) based on the following fac13 tors: 

14 ‘‘(A) A covered entity not having pre15 viously been awarded a grant under the pro16 gram. 

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

18 grant funds to expand educational activities de19 scribed in paragraph (1)(B)(i) or (2)(A) of sub20 section (e) that the covered entity is carrying 

21 out at the time when the covered entity submits 

22 the application for the grant. 

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

24 grant funds to build on prior expertise and ac25 tivities aimed at preventing drownings. 


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

2 grant funds to carry out activities in a geo3 graphic area that has a greater number per 

4 capita of drowning or entrapment incidents. 

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

6 grant funds in underserved, minority, or rural 

7 communities to provide services that address 

8 and target racial, ethnic, or rural drowning dis9 parities. 

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

11 considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.— 

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

14 entities to receive grants under the program, 

15 the Commission shall, to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, ensure geographic diversity in the 

17 areas where activities will be carried out using 

18 grant funds. 

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

20 Commission awards grants to two or more cov21 ered entities that will carry out activities using 

22 grant funds in the same geographic area, the 

23 Commission shall provide technical assistance to 

24 such entities regarding how such entities may 

25 collaborate in carrying out such activities. 


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1 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Commission shall de2 termine the amount of a grant awarded under this section, 

3 and shall consider— 

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

5 State or an Indian Tribe— 

6 ‘‘(A) the population of such State or In7 dian Tribe; 

8 ‘‘(B) the enforcement and implementation 

9 needs of such State or Indian Tribe; or 

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

11 Indian Tribe proposing to use grant funds pur12 suant to subsection (e)(1)(B)(i); 

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

14 nonprofit organization, the number of individuals to 

15 whom such nonprofit organization is proposing to 

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

17 using grant funds, taking into consideration any in18 creased costs of providing such education due to the 

19 rural or remote nature of the area where such non20 profit organization is proposing to provide such edu21 cation; and 

22 ‘‘(3) allocation of grant funds in a manner de23 signed to provide the maximum benefit from the 

24 program in terms of protecting children from drown25 ing or entrapment. 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

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

3 an Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this section 

4 shall use— 

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

6 available— 

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

8 ‘‘(I) implementation and enforce9 ment of standards under the swim10 ming pool and spa safety law of the 

11 State or Indian Tribe; and 

12 ‘‘(II) inspecting and repairing or 

13 replacing swimming pool and spa 

14 drain covers to ensure compliance 

15 with applicable Federal, State, and 

16 Tribal law; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) to defray administrative costs as18 sociated with the hiring and training pro19 grams under clause (i); and 

20 ‘‘(B) the remainder— 

21 ‘‘(i) to educate pool owners, pool oper22 ators, and other members of the public 

23 about the standards under the swimming 

24 pool and spa safety law of the State or In25 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 EQUIVALENT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

3 ensure that at least 1 full-time equivalent is 

4 dedicated to carrying out the grant program 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION.—Any duties per7 formed by the Director of Drowning Prevention 

8 may not be considered in determining whether 

9 the requirement of subparagraph (A) is met. 

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

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

12 each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028 $5,000,000 

13 to carry out this section.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF CPSC EDUCATION AND 

15 AWARENESS PROGRAM. 

16 Section 1407 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

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

18 follows: 

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

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

21 and carry out an education and awareness program to in22 form the public of methods to prevent drowning and en23 trapment in swimming pools and spas. In carrying out the 

24 program, the Commission shall develop— 


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1 ‘‘(1) educational materials designed for swim2 ming pool and spa manufacturers, service compa3 nies, and supply retail outlets, including guidance on 

4 barrier and drain cover inspection, maintenance, and 

5 replacement; 

6 ‘‘(2) educational materials designed for swim7 ming pool and spa owners and operators, consumers, 

8 States, Indian Tribes, and nonprofit organizations; 

9 ‘‘(3) educational materials designed to reach 

10 historically disadvantaged communities that have 

11 higher rates of drowning than the nationwide aver12 age; and 

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

14 awareness of swimming pool and spa safety. 

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

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

17 each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028 $5,000,000 

18 to carry out the education and awareness program author19 ized by subsection (a).’’. 

20 SEC. 5. CPSC REPORT. 

21 Section 1408 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and 

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

23 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1408. CPSC REPORT. 

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

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

4 under section 1405, the Commission shall submit to Con5 gress a report evaluating the implementation of the grant 

6 program authorized by that section. 

7 ‘‘(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report re8 quired by subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the 

9 fiscal year covered by the report, the following: 

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

11 under the program. 

12 ‘‘(2) For each such applicant— 

13 ‘‘(A) name; 

14 ‘‘(B) location; 

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

16 spa safety; and 

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

18 considers appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(3) How many applicants received grants 

20 under the program and the amount of the grant re21 ceived by each such applicant. 

22 ‘‘(4) How recipients of grants under the pro23 gram were selected and the purposes for which each 

24 such recipient proposed to use grant funds in the 

25 grant application of the recipient. 


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

2 under section 1405, for which the Commission used 

3 amounts appropriated under subsection (i) of such 

4 section. 

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

6 program, including any barriers or gaps, and rec7 ommendations for legislative changes, if required to 

8 increase the effectiveness of the program.’’. 

Æ 


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