The House Appropriations Committee released its 2019 budget bill to the full Senate and included a modest $4 million increase for OSHA, from $552,787,000 in 2018 to a recommended $556,787,000 in 2019.
OSHA’s budget is included in appropriations for the Department of Labor, for which the committee recommended $12.1 billion in discretionary appropriations; $9.8 billion of that amount is recommended for the Employment Training Administration and 1.7 billion for the Job Corps.
Farm Exemption
Regarding OSHA, the Committee emphasized the importance of continuing to exempt farms employing 10 or fewer people from the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act with the exception of those farms having a temporary labor camp. The Committee also continued language exempting small firms in industry classifications having a lost workday injury rate less than the national average from general schedule safety inspections. The exemption for small farming operations from OSHA regulations has been in place since 1976.
“The continued exemption for small farms and recognition of limits of the OSHA regulatory authority are critical for family farms,” stated the Committee. “It is also important that the Department of Agriculture be consulted in any future attempts by OSHA to redefine or modify any aspect of the small farm exemption.”
Specific Programs
Specific programmatic appropriations in the bill include the following:
- $499,000 to allow OSHA tuition and fees for training institute courses used for occupational safety and health training and education activities in the private sector.
- $102,850,000 for grants to states under Section 23(g) of the OSH Act. These funds primarily are provided to states that have taken responsibility for administering their own occupational safety and health programs for the private sector and/or the public sector.
- $10,537,000 for the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, including not less than $4,500,000 set aside for capacity building development grants required by the OSH Act. Capacity building grants focus on developing and/or expanding the capacity of an organization to provide safety and health training, education, and related assistance to the targeted audiences. The organization must provide financial plans to continue capacity beyond the grant period.
- $3,500,000 to administer the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented an outstanding safety and health management system.
Injury, Illness, and Fatality Reporting
In addition, the Committee states that it recognizes the importance of disclosing workplace injury, illness, and fatality data to the public. “Accordingly, the Committee instructs OSHA to resume timely and public reporting on its website of fatalities that occur at workplaces, regardless if a citation is issued,” stated the Committee.
No Change Recommended for MSHA
The Committee recommended 2019 appropriations of $373,816,000 for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the same amount that was appropriated for 2018.
“To prepare properly for a mine rescue emergency, the Committee directs MSHA to continue to devote sufficient resources towards mine rescue technology by fully equipping and maintaining the existing MSHA mine rescue stations,” the Committee states. “In addition, the Committee directs MSHA to continue to provide all necessary technical assistance regarding mine rescue communications to state and private mine rescue teams and to ensure that all relevant MSHA grant programs prioritize mine rescue communications technology.”
The Appropriations bill, S. 3158, is here.