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Mast Secures More Than $20 Million to Combat Harmful Algal Blooms, Study Health Impacts

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The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, including 9 amendments offered by U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) totaling $21.6 million aimed at combating harmful algal blooms and studying the health impact of the crisis.
“When the House passed my amendments in July to add more than $1 million in funding to combat harmful algal blooms, I promised that I’d keep fighting for more,” Rep. Mast said.  “This money—more than $20 million—will go toward cost-effective solutions to this problem that has caused incalculable damage to our community.”
The adopted amendments are as follows:

  • Adds $5.6 million to the Natural Resource Conservation Service to promote environmentally sustainable agriculture and toxic runoff mitigation.
  • Adds $2 million to the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to expand postdoctoral research, prevention and monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms.
  • Adds $1.5 million to the FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, to continue research on human impact of contaminated seafood.
  • Adds $1.1 million to the EPA Office of Research and Development to research water quality impacts of nutrient inputs, temperature, land use and runoff.
  • Adds $1 million to non-point source pollution grants to state projects for mitigation and removal of toxic substances.
  • Adds $1 million to the U.S. Geological Service, Oregon Water Sciences Research Center, to research Harmful Algal Blooms affect on animals and exposure to disease from toxins.
  • Adds $1 million to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to research human health impacts of exposure to Harmful Algal Bloom toxins.
  • Adds $400,000 to the CDC’s Safe Water Program to investigate environmental threats of public exposure to waterborne contaminates.
  • Adds $8 million to NOAA’s National Ocean Service to detect, respond to, and develop new and innovative technologies to mitigate impacts from Harmful Algal Blooms.  Rep. Mast is the lead co-sponsor of this amendment offered by Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16).

The amendments follow the passage of two amendments offered by Rep. Mast in July to increase funding to combat harmful algal blooms by more than $1 million.  The legislation now heads to the United States Senate for consideration.