WASHINGTON - After recent reports of red tide in Tampa Bay and Sarasota, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are introducing a bill that would prioritize monitoring and forecasting red tide blooms in the future.

This bill is a safeguard that would classify the forecasting of red tide an essential activity. Lawmakers introducing the bill, such as Rep. Vern Buchanan (R) of Florida's 13th District, think this is necessary as a result of the government shutdown in 2018-2019, which lasted 35 days. The shutdown coincided with one of the worst outbreaks of the red tide. 

As a result, government scientists were sent home and were were unable to track and analyze satellite images of the blooms. This happened at a time when they were rapidly growing in the Gulf. Rep. Buchanan wants to make sure that will never happen again. 

“We need to know exactly what’s going on, the best that we can. When we have that capability and information, it helps us make better decisions with local leaders and make sure the counties and cities are doing the appropriate things, when people are swimming and everything else,” Buchanan said in an interview with Spectrum News.

“As someone who loves to be on the water, it’s a big factor. You get a sense sometimes out there, you start coughing and you don’t know the magnitude of that. We need to be able to monitor it. There’s no reason if we have a government shutdown, if we have a red tide issue, and we did have one there for a year - that information is critical,” he added.

This push for more resources comes as President Biden hosts his climate change summit with world leaders. Scientists still are studying why red tide occurs. However, they say higher water temperatures and storm runoff create favorable conditions. 

The bill has bipartisan support and has several co-sponsors including Rep. Charlie Crist (D) of Florida's 13th District, Rep. Greg Steube (R) of the 17th District, Rep. Bill Posey (R) of the 8th District and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) of the state's 1st District. The bill has been sent to the Natural Resources Committee and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

If the legislation makes it to a full House vote, it will need a companion bill in the Senate.