President Barack Obama’s budget blueprint for the Labor Department includes a $6.4 million hike to beef up OSHA’s standards and guidance in fiscal year 2012, as part of nearly $25 million in total increases proposed for the agency -- with the top OSHA regulatory item, injury and illness prevention programs, a key beneficiary. Other top priorities for the increased regulatory activity are combustible dust, infectious diseases, walking and working surfaces, hazard communication and silica, OSHA chief David Michaels stated in a Web chat. The budget request Obama submitted to Congress on Monday (s
December 30, 2025