US Senate passes pool safety bill

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she's pleased the Senate passed a pool safety bill.

Klobuchar pushed for the legislation after a 6-year-old Edina girl Abigail Taylor lost most of her small intestine last summer when she sat on an uncovered wading pool drain.

Klobuchar says the pool safety bill that passed Thursday has two stronger requirements that were not in the original draft: a vacuum suction system for public pools and making the legislation retroactive for public pools.

The vacuum suction system costs "only about $130, but it lessens the suction in the pools," says Klobuchar.

The second requirement ensures that not just new pool construction implements the safety features.

And the second was to make it retroactive for public pools. So it's not just new pool construction.

Abigail Taylor faces a small intestine transplant that will keep her hospitalized for six months. Her lifetime medical expenses could total 30 million dollars.