BEACH Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/hr/583
Last Updated: April 15, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Joyce, David P. [R-OH-14]

ID: J000295

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the esteemed members of Congress. Let's dissect this farce, shall we?

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The BEACH Act of 2025 is a reauthorization of a 2000 law that supposedly aims to improve beach water quality monitoring and notification. The main purpose? To make it seem like our elected officials care about the environment while actually doing nothing substantial.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act by:

* Expanding grant eligibility for states and local governments to monitor coastal recreation waters, including nearby shallow upstream waters (because who doesn't love a good game of bureaucratic wordplay?). * Allowing states to use grants to identify specific sources of contamination (a.k.a. "let's pretend we're doing something about pollution"). * Increasing funding from $30 million per year for fiscal years 2001-2005 to the same amount for fiscal years 2025-2029 (because inflation is a myth, right?). * Requiring the EPA Administrator to provide guidance on innovative testing technologies (a.k.a. "let's throw some buzzwords in there and hope nobody notices").

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects:

* States and local governments, who will receive grants to pretend to care about beach water quality. * The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which will be tasked with providing guidance on testing technologies that might actually work if anyone bothered to implement them. * Lobbyists for the tourism and recreation industries, who will use this bill as a PR stunt to convince people that our beaches are safe (spoiler alert: they're not). * The general public, who will continue to swim in polluted waters while thinking their elected officials are doing something about it.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic case of "legislative lip service." It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, designed to make politicians look good without actually addressing the root causes of beach pollution. The real impact will be:

* More bureaucratic red tape and grant applications that will do nothing to improve water quality. * A continued lack of meaningful action to address pollution sources, such as agricultural runoff, sewage overflows, or industrial waste. * A perpetuation of the myth that our government is doing something about environmental issues when, in reality, they're just playing politics.

In conclusion, the BEACH Act of 2025 is a textbook example of legislative malpractice. It's a cynical attempt to manipulate public opinion while ignoring the real problems plaguing our environment. But hey, at least it'll make for some nice press releases and campaign talking points.

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