{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kiggans.house.gov/2026/09/14/kiggans-bill-to-ensure-proper-lifeguard-staffing-on-public-beaches-passes-the-house-with-bipartisan-support/", "Kiggans\u2019 Bill to Ensure Proper Lifeguard Staffing on Public Beaches Passes the House with Bipartisan Support", "2026-09-14", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Jennifer A. Kiggans", "K000399", "kiggans.house.gov", "kiggans", "https://kiggans.house.gov/feed/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced the House passage of her bill, H.R. 5063, the Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act, which passed the House by voice. This bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to work with local governments to ensure there is proper lifeguard coverage in the event of a lifeguard shortage.\n\nCongresswoman Kiggans said, \u201cAs the representative of a coastal district, keeping our beaches safe for the families who live here and the millions of people who visit them every year is incredibly important to me. Last summer, communities on Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore were forced to step up when a federal lifeguard shortage left Chincoteague without the assurance our families deserve. Our local leaders did the right thing, but they should never be left scrambling to solve a federal staffing problem or pay the bill to keep a federal beach safe.\n\n\u201cThe Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act provides a commonsense solution by allowing the Department of the Interior to partner with local governments when lifeguard shortages occur and ensuring those communities are reimbursed for the costs they take on. I\u2019m incredibly proud to see this bipartisan bill pass the House today, and I want to thank Mayor Denise Bowden and our local leaders on the Eastern Shore for working with us to turn a challenge we experienced at home into a solution that can help keep families safe at federal beaches across the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cFamilies visiting America\u2019s vast federal beaches and swimming areas should be able to count on properly staffed shores. H.R. 5063 allows the Department of the Interior to partner with local governments during lifeguard shortages and guarantees those communities are reimbursed for the costs they incur, ensuring federal responsibilities are not shifted to local taxpayers. I commend Rep. Kiggans for developing a practical solution that strengthens visitor safety and supports the coastal communities in Virginia welcoming millions of Americans each year,\u201d said Chairman Bruce Westerman.\n\nWatch Rep. Kiggans\u2019 speech from the House Floor here.\n\nRead Rep. Kiggans\u2019 remarks from the House Floor prior to the bill\u2019s passage as prepared for delivery:\n\nThank you, Mr. Speaker.\n\nI rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 5063, the Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act.\n\nI have the privilege of representing a district that lives on the beach and the Bay. For families across Coastal Virginia, and the millions of Americans who visit our federal beaches every year, water safety is incredibly important.\n\nLast year, we saw firsthand what can happen when the federal government fails to adequately staff these beaches.\n\nFollowing a federal hiring freeze, Assateague Island National Seashore was unable to provide its normal lifeguard coverage at the federal beach in Chincoteague, Virginia.\n\nFamilies continued visiting and swimming, but the lifeguards they had come to rely on were not there.\n\nOur local leaders stepped up. The Town of Chincoteague and Accomack County took on unforeseen costs to make sure lifeguards returned to the beach and families could safely enjoy the water.\n\nBut our local governments should never be left scrambling to solve a federal staffing problem on their own.\n\nThat is why I introduced the Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act.\n\nMy bill provides a commonsense solution. When the Department of the Interior determines that a federal swimming area is facing a lifeguard staffing shortage, it can partner with local governments to provide the necessary coverage. And importantly, when a local government steps up to provide those lifeguards, the federal government will reimburse it for the reasonable costs it incurs.\n\nThis applies to designated swimming areas managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation that are normally monitored by federal lifeguards.\n\nMr. Speaker, this bill is about public safety, accountability, and giving our communities a solution when Washington falls short.\n\nI am grateful to the local leaders on the Eastern Shore who worked with us after seeing this problem firsthand, and I am proud that we now have an opportunity to make sure communities across the country have another tool to keep their beaches safe.\n\nNo family visiting a federal beach should have to wonder whether a lifeguard will be there when an emergency happens.\n\nI urge my colleagues to support the Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act, and I yield back.\n\nThe Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act now moves to the Senate for consideration.\n\nBackground:\n\nIn June 2025, Congresswoman Kiggans questioned Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the House Committee on Natural Resources regarding recent federal hiring freezes and whether temporary hires, including lifeguards, would receive an exemption. Watch the Congresswoman\u2019s questioning here and coverage from Shore Daily News here.\n\nFollowing the hearing, Congresswoman Kiggans sent a letter to Secretary Burgum reaffirming concern for the federal hiring freeze and its impact on the lifeguard shortage. Read her letter here.\n\nIn September 2025, Rep. Kiggans introduced the Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act in response to lifeguard shortages on Chincoteague Island and across the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the Summer of 2025. Read her press release here.\n\nWatch Rep. Kiggans\u2019 interview with CBS News following the bill\u2019s introduction here.", 1, "2026-09-15T09:50:21Z", "2026-09-15T09:52:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kiggans.house.gov/2026/09/14/kiggans-bill-to-ensure-proper-lifeguard-staffing-on-public-beaches-passes-the-house-with-bipartisan-support/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2630948331207037, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}