AIHA Letter Defends OSHA, NIOSH Budgets

Fearing the worst during the Congressional debates about the federal budget, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has sent letters to the members of Congress who are overseeing appropriations and oversight of OSHA and NIOSH, asking that the budget not be balanced in part on the backs of those two agencies.

Sandy Smith

July 19, 2011

AIHA has requested that members of Congress preserve the allocations earmarked for OSHA and NIOSH in the proposed FY 2012 budget, noting that President Barack Obama “has proposed a modest $25 million increase in the OSHA FY 2012 budget.” According to AIHA, “Studies have shown that expenditures on occupational health and safety create a positive return to the bottom line of employers. Protecting the health and safety of America’s workers is non-negotiable.”

By the same token, the association’s members are concerned about President Obama’s proposed cut – of 17 percent – to the NIOSH budget. “It is the sole federal agency responsible for conducting research, making recommendations for the prevention of work-related disease and injury based on current scientific evidence and leading the effort to assure that there are occupational safety and health professionals trained to protect America’s workers.”

To read the full text of the letter, please visit http://www.aiha.org/
newspubs/govtaffairs/Documents/comment11_OSHA-NIOSH-Harkin-07-19-11_4.pdf.