WASHINGTON Backed by a powerful Republican ally who experienced the tragedy of an accidental drowning, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz plans to introduce a bill today designed to put safety fences around swimming pools, hot tubs and whirlpools.

     Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children ages 1 to 4, prompting a nationwide campaign this week to prod other states to follow Florida's example by requiring fences and other safety measures.

     "Living in an all-year warm-weather place and having three little kids makes me constantly think about it," Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, said on Monday. Her main purpose, she said, is to raise the nation's awareness of pool safety.

     "You can't take your eyes off young children when kids are around water, and the more people hear about that, the more likely we are to prevent drowning," she said.

     Former Secretary of State James Baker, an adviser to three Republican presidents, has begun lobbying members of Congress and plans to promote the pool safety bill at a news conference today on Capitol Hill.

     Baker's 7-year-old granddaughter drowned in 2002 when she got caught in the powerful drain of a whirlpool. It took two adults to yank her submerged body from the pool, and several people at the house party tried unsuccessfully to revive her.

     Similar tragedies, often when adults were momentarily distracted, have occurred across the nation, particularly in states dotted with pools.

     About 300 children age 4 and younger drown in residential swimming pools each year, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, a network of safety groups based in Washington. In Florida, drowning deaths for this age group are more than double the national average, according to the Florida Department of Health.

     Wasserman Schultz said she became alarmed by the number of drowning deaths when she served in the Florida Legislature and was pregnant with twins. She pushed through a state law that requires all new residential swimming pools to be built with one of four safety features: a barrier fence, pool cover, exit alarms on all doors or windows with pool access or self-closing, self-latching doors.

     Her bill in Congress would encourage states to adopt pool safety laws that require fencing and a suction-outlet drain cover to prevent hair and body entanglement. The bill would authorize spending about $25 million in grants to states to implement such laws, including the cost of safety education campaigns.

     Pool safety is the focus of this year's National Safe Kids Week, May 7-13.

     "Education is the most important part," Wasserman Schultz said.

     "You can't legislate supervision. We need layers of protection. And anything we do that makes parents watch their kids will help prevent drownings."

Copyright 2007