[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1446 Introduced in House (IH)]







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-American 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 minority 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
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses the importance of access to swimming lessons 
        for all communities in the United States;
            (2) recognizes the danger of fatal unintentional drowning 
        in the United States;
            (3) condemns the persistent high rates of fatal drowning 
        among all children, especially minority children;
            (4) celebrates the passage of the Virginia Graeme Baker 
        Pool and Spa Safety Act, and recognizes that swimming lessons 
        represent only one part of drowning prevention programs;
            (5) celebrates the work of initiatives like Asphalt's Green 
        Waterproofing program, USA Swimming's ``Make A Splash'', and 
        Safe Kids USA to educate parents and caregivers on water safety 
        and drowning prevention messages; and
            (6) encourages public and private funding to support 
        current and future initiatives that provide all children access 
        to swimming education.
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