OSHA, MSHA receive smaller-than-expected budget increases for FY 2023

Washington — OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration will receive modest budget increases for fiscal year 2023 – far less than the amounts initially proposed by Congress and the White House.

Under the FY 2023 federal appropriations bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29, OSHA is set to receive around $632.3 million for FY 2023 (which ends Sept. 30). That’s an increase of about $20 million, or 3.3%, from FY 2022. The Senate proposed $679.8 million for the agency in its Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, released in July.

The House announced in June that it had approved $712 million for OSHA. The Biden administration sought $701 million in its budget request, issued in March.

Federal enforcement and state programs will get the bulk of OSHA’s modest budget increase. Those line items are set to go up $7 million each, to $243 million and $120 million, respectively.

MSHA is getting a $4 million (1%) budget increase, to approximately $387.8 million, in FY 2023. The Senate proposed $409.6 million, the House budgeted $403.8 million and the administration sought $423.5 million for the agency. Enforcement will get nearly $1.3 million of that $4 million increase, to almost $265.8 million.

NIOSH is set to receive $362.8 million – an $11 million (3.1%) increase from FY 2022. That’s closer to the congressional bills (a proposed $367.3 million from the Senate and $363.3 million from the House). The administration requested a $6.5 million decrease in NIOSH’s budget, to $345.3 million.

The Chemical Safety Board has a budget of $14.4 million for FY 2023 (a 7.5% increase) – exactly what the Senate and House proposed in their initial bills. The administration requested $14 million for the agency, or a $600,000 increase from FY 2022.