$595 Million Proposed for OSHA in Final Obama Budget
Key numbers for EH&S professionals are the proposed $595 million for OSHA and $397 million for MSHA. According to DOL, the OSHA budget provides resources to increase safety and security at chemical facilities and improve response procedures when major incidents occur.
President Barack Obama's final budget, the fiscal 2017 budget for the federal government, got a thumbs up response Feb. 9 from U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, who said the proposed budget "makes investments to ensure that America's economy works for everyone." He added that it "envisions a future with greater opportunity for all – a future where a full-time job pays a living wage, where working families have the support they need to survive and thrive, and where retirements are secure."
Key numbers for EH&S professionals are the proposed $595 million for OSHA and $397 million for MSHA. According to DOL, the OSHA budget provides resources to increase safety and security at chemical facilities and improve response procedures when major incidents occur, stemming from the Obama administration's review following the ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion in West, Texas. The MSHA budget allows that agency to meet its statutory obligation to inspect every mine, and it supports implementation of a final rule on respirable coal dust exposure and enforcement activities intended to focus attention on employers with the most serious safety problems.
Also included in the DOL $12.8 billion budget is $277 million for the Wage and Hour Division.