Congressman Mack on the effects of Red Tide
Recently, Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) urged members of the House Science and Technology Committee to improve how federal funds are authorized and distributed for red tide research. Mack spoke at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment about the harmful health, environmental and economic effects of red tide and other harmful algal blooms on Southwest Florida and other coastal communities in the United States.
I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Baird, Ranking Member Inglis and the members of the subcommittee for holding this important hearing. I appreciate the chance to speak on harmful algal blooms (HABs) and how they are affecting our nation’s coastlines, oceans, and inland waters.
A little over a year ago, I appeared before this committee with Congressman Boyd and testified about the importance of this issue and the legislation I introduced to combat red tide. Since then, the committee has crafted new language to improve the legislation we’ve worked on by including freshwater HABs and instituting regional action plans. These are important efforts, and it is time we recognize that although harmful algal blooms affect our entire nation, they are different throughout the county.
I represent the coastal areas of Southwest Florida. If you haven’t been there, it’s a beautiful part of the country, with miles and miles of white sandy beaches. For Southwest Florida, like many communities, a healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand-in-hand. When I was growing up in Cape Coral, Florida, red tide blooms were short-lived nuisances that lasted just a few days.
Today, however, these blooms continue for months at a time, and they have long-lasting implications that threaten the environment, people’s health, and our overall quality of life. It is imperative that we do more to understand and combat this problem. These blooms cause dangerous respiratory distress, burning eyes, as well as the potential for severe food poisoning from contaminated shellfish. HABs not only affect our personal health, they also affect the health of our economy. Red tide and other toxic blooms cost tens of millions of dollars annually to communities across America. From New England to the Great Lakes, from California to Florida, these toxic blooms affect us all.
Legislation regarding these toxic blooms was first introduced in 1998 under the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act. This law authorized appropriations for NOAA to research, monitor, and manage activities for the prevention and control of HABs. It also established an inter-agency task force to develop a comprehensive coordinated federal response to toxic blooms and hypoxia. By holding the hearing today, your committee is giving this issue the attention it deserves.
Last year, I introduced the Save Our Shores Act to increase our commitment to researching HABS. Since then, I have been working with the committee to introduce a new bill to tackle red tide and other harmful algal blooms. This legislation will ensure that scientists and experts in the field, not politicians, determine where research money is spent. Additionally, by improving reporting requirements, Congress and NOAA will be able to measure the effectiveness of these research efforts.
Finally, we need to reduce the gap between authorized and appropriated funds. Annual funding has fallen far short and we need to close this disparity.
Once again, I commend the committee for bringing up such an important issue. The sooner we can understand what factors contribute to these toxic blooms, the sooner we can develop solutions to save our nation’s coastlines, oceans, and inland waters from the scourge of HABs.
By Congressman Connie Mack