Support grows for the BEACH Act ahead of summer swimming season

Good news: More members of Congress are supporting an effort to make beaches safe for swimming this summer.

America’s rivers, lakes and beaches are great places to spend time with our family and beat the heat, but often, sewage and runoff pollution make the waterways unsafe. In 2022, roughly one-half of U.S. beaches had potentially unsafe contamination levels on at least one day of testing.

That’s why we’re urging Congress to pass the BEACH Act, which provides for water quality testing at ocean and Great Lakes beaches so that you can keep your family safe. Since Memorial Day, seven new members of Congress have cosponsored the bipartisan BEACH Act:

Rep. Ted Lieu, California

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California

Rep. Neal Dunn, Florida

Rep. Jared Huffman, California

Rep. Sarah McBride, Delaware

Rep. Eugene Vindman, Virginia

Rep. Jahana Hayes, Connecticut

The legislation is led by Reps. Dave Joyce (OH), Frank Pallone (NJ), David Rouzer (NC) and Emilia Sykes (OH). In the Senate, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are the bipartisan, bicoastal champions for safe beaches.

Additional supporters of the BEACH Act include Reps. Pappas (NH), Bonamici (OR), Brownley and Min (CA), Fitzpatrick (PA), Amo and Magaziner (RI), Casten (IL), Jayapal (WA) and Tokuda (HI).