Senate OKs pool drain safety bill

Legislation to protect young children from the tragic hazards of pool drains passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday and appears headed for enactment.

The dangers were dramatized by two incidents this summer. Six-year-old Zachary Archer Cohn of Connecticut drowned when his arm got stuck in an intake valve in his family's pool.

Abigail Taylor of Edina, also 6, sat on an uncovered drain in a country club's wading pool, and its suction tore out most of her small intestine. Abigail survived, but may require a feeding tube for the rest of her life.

Scott Taylor, Abigail's father, said he never imagined a pool drain was something to worry about.

"It's common sense that when you go to a pool, you're worried about your kid drowning in horse play and running and falling and those sorts of things," he said. "You don't think that in 18 inches of water that you could literally have your insides ripped from your body."

Taylor has filed suit against the Minneapolis Golf Club, where Abigail was injured, and Sta-Rite Industries, a pool equipment manufacturer that made the drain. The suit requests compensation for Abigail's projected medical costs, which could total $30 million.

The manufacturer has denied responsibility, saying the club misused its product, which the club denies.

The bill

The legislation aimed at preventing the kinds of tragedies that befell Taylor and Cohn cleared a significant hurdle when the Senate passed the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, which was attached to its energy bill.

The bill would require public pools to incorporate anti-entrapment drain covers and create an incentive grant program for states to adopt more comprehensive pool safety laws. It prohibits the manufacture, sale or distribution of drain covers that don't meet anti-entrapment safety standards. Industry groups have supported the reforms.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar added language to the legislation after learning of Abigail's incident that would apply its provisions to all existing public pools. This fall she added another provision that will require such protections as a simple technology that would shut off suction when a drain is blocked.

"This is strong legislation that will make sure no more innocent children are hurt at the pool," Klobuchar, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Parents shouldn't have to worry about their children getting stuck in a drain when they go to the local pool."

An obstacle overcome

The bill was named for Virginia Graeme Baker, the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker III who drowned in 2002 when pulled underwater by a hot-tub drain. The bill was introduced last year but was narrowly defeated in the last days of the session.

The House passed its version of the bill in October, with Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad as a co-sponsor.

"I vowed to do everything I could to change the law so such a tragedy never happens again," Ramstad said.

But the measure's fate was for a time uncertain after a single senator blocked it because it authorized new spending without offsetting the costs elsewhere. By attaching the pool bill to the energy bill, the obstacle was avoided.

"One senator can really muck things up," Klobuchar said.

Taylor said one of the fortunate side effects of Abigail's accident is that he has been able to get the word out that there is a very real danger lurking at the bottom of pools and spas.

"Part of the reason we've embraced some of the media attention is because we feel a responsibility to make sure we do whatever we can to make sure it doesn't happen to any other children," he said. "We knew we couldn't live with ourselves if a year from now another child was injured."

Klobuchar said she and Taylor have been in constant contact about the bill's progress.

"One of the proudest moments I've had in the Senate so far was talking to Scott Taylor last night and telling him the bill has passed," Klobuchar said. "It was so important to him and to [Abigail] to get this bill done."

Nina Petersen-Perlman • 202.408.2723