Joyce, Bonamici Reintroduce Legislation to Improve Harmful Algal Bloom Response

WASHINGTON D.C. – Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) recently reintroduced the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments (HABHRCA) Act of 2025. This legislation would reauthorize the HABHRCA program through 2030 to improve monitoring, forecasting, prevention, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and hypoxia by requiring better coordination among task force agencies, and state and local entities, as well as Indian tribes. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

“The shallowest of all the Great Lakes, Lake Erie, is particularly vulnerable to harmful algal blooms, which have plagued the lake for decades. Any threat to Lake Erie is also a threat to the drinking water supply for 11 million people, our tourism industry, and all the plants and animals that are part of the lake’s ecosystem,” said Congressman Joyce, Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral bill to ensure Lake Erie, and every state in America, is protected from these dangerous threats to our bodies of water.”

“The scale and frequency of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events continue to increase with climate change, damaging beloved places, harming fisheries central to coastal economies, affecting tourism, and threatening public and ecosystem health,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “This legislation will empower coastal and freshwater communities to better monitor these disastrous events and leverage research to mitigate and prevent their worst effects.”

“Unchecked harmful algal blooms can threaten our marine life and coastal ecosystems, the livelihoods of our commercial fisheries and coastal communities, and the health and well-being of Alaskans,” said Senator Sullivan. “Alaska is our country’s leading seafood producer and home to more coastline than the contiguous Lower 48 states combined, making our response to HABs critically important. This legislation develops and coordinates effective responses to harmful algal blooms and will improve the monitoring of the health of our oceans for the sake of coastal communities, especially those that rely on subsistence. I want to thank Representatives Joyce and Bonamici, as well as our crucial Alaska stakeholders, for working with me to support the health of our marine ecosystems in Alaska and nationwide.”

Background: 

The original Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) was passed in 1998 and established an interagency task force to assess the distribution of harmful algal blooms and their impacts on coastal waters and human health. HABHRCA has since been reauthorized three times, through FY 2023, and is currently due for reauthorization. This bill reauthorizes the original 1998 HABHRCA, and improves coordination among state and local entities, as well as Indian tribes, to improve monitoring, forecasting, prevention, and mitigation of HABs and hypoxia.

Read the full text of the bill here.

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