|
By Susan Levine
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 3, 2006; B04
The man who once directed the White House, ran the country's Treasury and negotiated with heads of state, stood on a dais yesterday, the Capitol as his backdrop, and choked up over painful memories.
Until that moment, James A. Baker III never had spoken publicly about the loss of his young granddaughter Graeme, who drowned in a friend's spa when she was caught by the whirlpool's drain.
"Four years ago, our hearts were really broken," said Baker -- a former White House chief of staff, treasury secretary and secretary of state -- his voice suddenly turning thick. It was an accident that need not have happened, and not just because the 7-year-old was an excellent swimmer, he continued. "A few very simple steps" could have prevented her death and all the grief and anger that followed.
Those steps, part of a bill that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) plans to introduce next week, were what brought Baker out yesterday afternoon. The proposed legislation would offer at least $25 million in incentives to states that mandate safety measures, from pool fencing and covers to spa drain caps and vacuum release mechanisms that would keep children, and even adults, from becoming trapped.
After car accidents, federal statistics show, drowning is the second leading cause of injury death among children 1-14. At least several die every year when they cannot pull away from the drain suction or when their hair becomes entangled in the system. Others have suffered intestinal evisceration or severe brain damage.
"The body of a child is no match for the powerful suction of a drain," said Martin Eichelberger, director of emergency trauma at Children's Hospital and president of Safe Kids Worldwide. The nonprofit organization, which is supporting Wasserman Schultz's bill, suspects that the number of entrapment deaths could be much higher.
Details of Virginia Graeme Baker's death had been reported before, but never told with such purpose. Her mother, Nancy Baker, also stood on the dais at yesterday's news conference and stoically recounted the horror of that 2002 afternoon in McLean. The force holding the girl underwater was so great -- "hundreds of pounds of pressure," she said -- that the drain cover cracked in two as Graeme's body was pulled free.
"It's hard to understand how anyone cannot support this bill," James Baker said after the speeches concluded. And he pledged to work for its passage. "It's the least I can do to honor the memory of my granddaughter."
|
