Democratic appropriators are signaling that they will offer a series of amendments to pending fiscal year 2019 funding legislation for the Labor Department and other agencies that they say will bolster funding for OSHA and remove “poison pill” policy provisions.
House appropriators are proposing to cut OSHA's funds in fiscal year 2019 at levels slightly below those requested by the Trump administration while also seeking to scrap the agency's Susan Harwood training grants as requested by the White House and conservative groups.
The House Farm Bill includes language that would codify OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) rule's exemption for retail facilities, an issue that roiled the Obama administration, but the measure's fate is uncertain after House lawmakers failed to approve the underlying bill May 18.
House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-WI) announcement that he would not be seeking reelection in the upcoming midterms appears to have boosted prospects for Democrat Randy Bryce, a union iron worker who is running on a platform that pledges to “fully fund” OSHA in the face of the Trump administration's budget cuts.
Brushing aside administration requests to slash agency funding, Congress appears poised to approve an omnibus spending package for OSHA and other agencies before a looming March 23 deadline, moving quickly to approve a $1.3 trillion spending bill that provides a small overall increase for OSHA.
Responding to calls from Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), OSHA, EPA and other agencies have agreed to take steps to improve notifications to first responders when a local company is cited for serious violations involving flammable materials, likely clearing the way for OSHA nominee Scott Mugno to secure a confirmation vote.
Rep.-elect Conor Lamb's (D) surprise victory in last week's special election in Pennsylvania -- with significant labor union support on a platform that included strong support for worker safety rules -- is bolstering efforts by labor groups seeking to build support for the issue in upcoming 2018 elections.
House Republicans are advancing legislation that seeks to require OSHA and other agencies to ease public access to their “significant” guidance documents as part of a broader regulatory review effort targeting such informal policies, but are stopping short of acting on industry calls to subject guidance to formal notice-and-comment requirements.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a new report is urging the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to push OSHA, EPA and other agencies to avoid rushing rules into effect, especially late in a president's term, in order to ensure compliance with the Congressional Review Act (CRA), though OMB doubts that there is more it can do.
House lawmakers are holding a Feb. 27 hearing where they plan to explore ways to bolster Trump administration calls to increase OSHA's focus on collaborative compliance-focused approaches with industry, an effort intended to avoid the Obama-era's focus on strict enforcement but which Democrats say jeopardizes worker protections.