[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 57 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 57

   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

                            January 13, 2009

Mr. Sires (for himself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Payne, Mr. Serrano, 
 Mr. Reyes, Mr. Pallone, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Hinojosa, 
 Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Grijalva, and Ms. Bordallo) 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 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 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 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 USA, 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 the USA Swimming Foundation's program ``Make 
        A Splash'', 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 as an integral part of 
        drowning prevention;
            (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;
            (5) celebrates the work of initiatives like USA Swimming 
        Foundation'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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