Senate Committee Recommends Reinstating NIOSH Funding

By a vote of 26-3, the Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended $363.8 million in funding for NIOSH in fiscal year 2026, an increase of $1 million over funding the agency received in fiscal year 2025. The committee’s recommendation rejects President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal (PDF), which would cut NIOSH funding by 80 percent to $73 million.

The committee also recommended $632.3 million for OSHA and $387.8 million for MSHA. Both amounts are equal to funding the agencies received in FY 2025. The recommendation for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is roughly $14.5 million, which is $1 million less than OSHRC received for FY 2025.

The funding is part of the Senate’s appropriations bill (PDF) for the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

The president’s budget requests for the Department of Labor (PDF) included $582 million for OSHA and $348 million for MSHA, which represent decreases of 7.9 and 10.2 percent, respectively, from FY 2025 funding.

The committee’s recommendations are just one step in the budgeting process. The House Appropriations Committee will make its own recommendations after the chamber returns from recess at the end of August. The various budget bills must still be debated in each chamber and any differences reconciled.