This bill, known as the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025, significantly updates the existing 1998 Act to broaden its focus beyond coastal waters to include marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems , such as the Great Lakes, rivers, and lakes. It expands the interagency Task Force by adding the Department of Energy and streamlines existing assessment requirements. The legislation mandates that the Task Force submit a comprehensive action strategy for harmful algal blooms (HABs) to Congress every five years. This strategy must include scientific assessments, examine causes, ecological and economic impacts, environmental stressors, and evaluate prevention and mitigation methods. It also requires identifying research priorities and improving coordination among federal agencies, with regional chapters highlighting diverse impacts. The bill enhances the National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program by incorporating monitoring, observing, and forecasting capabilities. It directs the program to examine the causes, ecological consequences, and costs of HABs and hypoxia, including supporting the seafood industry's resilience and expanding toxin testing access for various harvesters. The program will also support sustained observations for real-time data access for decision-making. Specific roles are outlined for federal agencies, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) focusing on response activities, operational observing and forecasting, and forecast modeling for marine and coastal HABs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is tasked with research on freshwater HABs and hypoxia, developing operational monitoring and forecasting programs for lakes and rivers, and coordinating with NOAA on Great Lakes and estuarine issues. A new National Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network will integrate existing capabilities for monitoring, detection, and forecasting. A key provision establishes a national-level incubator program to develop and assess novel strategies and technologies for preventing, mitigating, and controlling HABs. This program will provide merit-based funding for solutions that reduce harmful algae and toxins, prioritizing those that protect habitats, public health, cultural resources, and benefit low-income, tribal, and rural communities. The bill authorizes significant appropriations for NOAA ($19.5 million) and EPA ($8 million) for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Finally, the bill amends the National Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2018 to improve responses to events of national significance. It allows for waiving non-Federal share requirements and expands authority for contracts and grants to support states, Indian tribes, and other entities. The criteria for determining events of national significance are broadened to include public health risks, economic impacts, and subsistence use impacts, with an additional $2 million authorized for these purposes for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.