Senate Bill Would Leave Budgets Flat

Senate Bill Would Leave Safety Agencies’ Budgets Virtually Flat: Safety & Health Magazine, July, 2023

Washington — A Senate committee has approved a bill that would keep worker safety agency budgets virtually unchanged in fiscal year 2024 – a contrast from a House bill put forth two weeks earlier.

The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill would allocate $628.5 million for OSHA – a decrease of around $3.8 million, or 0.6%, from FY 2023. The majority of that proposed cut is to the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, which would receive $10 million instead of approximately $12.8 million.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill with a 26-2 vote on July 27.

The House, meanwhile, has proposed a 15.1% budget cut for OSHA, allocating $536.9 million for FY 2024, which begins Oct. 1. In its annual budget proposal released March 9, the Biden administration is seeking $738.7 million for OSHA – an increase of around 17%, or more than $106.3 million, from FY 2023. Click here to read the full article on this bill from Safety & Health Magazine, July 2023.