[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16055]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1715

                     HONORING VIRGINIA GRAEME BAKER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
important legacy of Virginia Graeme Baker, a 7-year-old child who was 
the unfortunate victim of entrapment by a residential spa drain.
  On June 15, 2002, Graeme attended a pool party with her entire 
family, her mother Nancy and her four sisters. Everyone was having a 
great time swimming, when all of the sudden, one of Nancy's daughters 
came running to tell her that Graeme was in the spa. Nancy ran to the 
edge of the spa, and all she saw was dark and bubbling water.
  Her daughter, frantically crying and pointing into the tub, insisted 
that Graeme was there. Nancy jumped into the spa and saw Graeme with 
her eyes pinched closed, her hair and limbs moving with the current of 
water from all the jets on the side. Graeme was entrapped by the 
powerful suction of the drain spa and could not free herself.
  Nancy pulled and pulled with all her strength to help her daughter. 
It eventually took the strength of two adults to free Graeme from the 
spa. It was sadly too late; Graeme passed away in the hospital later 
that afternoon.
  I can only imagine the immeasurable grief that her mother and 
Graeme's entire family went through. Today, Mr. Speaker, is the fifth 
anniversary of Graeme's death, and I want to take this moment to 
acknowledge the enormous loss suffered by the Baker family.
  Following Graeme's death, Nancy and her father-in-law, former 
Secretary of State James Baker, became and still are tireless advocates 
for children and children's safety. When I met Nancy, I was immediately 
taken by her tragic story of the loss of her daughter.
  I was most affected by Nancy's incredible desire to ensure that what 
happened to Graeme did not happen to any other child. Nancy has 
channeled all of her energies into raising the issue of pool and spa 
drain entrapment, a hidden hazard responsible for hundreds of injuries 
and numerous deaths, to a national audience. Her passion is an 
inspiration to me, and I am proud to sponsor the Pool and Spa Safety 
Act, H.R. 1721, in memory of Graeme Baker.
  I want to acknowledge and thank my colleague Congressman Frank Wolf 
of Virginia, the lead Republican sponsor of this bill, Chairman Bobby 
Rush and Chairman John Dingell for their support of this badly needed 
legislation.
  The progress made on the Pool and Spa Safety Act would not be 
possible without the hard work of the entire Baker family. I hope my 
colleagues, Mr. Speaker, join me in honoring Virginia Graeme Baker, a 
remarkable little girl, and her mother Nancy whose dedication and 
tenacity is truly making the world a safer place for all of our 
children.

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