2017 could bring smaller budgets for OSH agencies

It’s only July, but U.S. workplace safety is already being targeted for spending cuts next year.

In a draft bill released earlier this month by the House Appropriations Committee, OSHA’s budget would shrink by three percent in fiscal year 2017, to $534.4 million.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSH) would also take hits. NIOSH would either get $329.1 million (in the House version) or $334.1 million (per the Senate appropriations committee’s proposal) – both amounts less than the agency’s 2016 budget of $339.1. More than $25 million would but cut from MSHA's $375.9 budget – a reflection, the lawmakers say, of decreased mining activity in the U.S.

The House bill specifies $102 million and the Senate $100.9 million for state plan enforcement.