Washington – In sharp contrast to budget cuts proposed by House Republicans, Senate Democrats introduced legislation March 4 that would maintain OSHA’s fiscal year 2011 budget at last year’s levels.
Congress has yet to pass a federal budget for FY 2011, which began Oct. 1. Government operations, including OSHA, have continued through a series of resolutions, the latest of which expires March 18.
Since the fiscal year began, OSHA has been operating under the FY 2010 budget of $558.6 million. The new Senate bill would maintain that funding level for the rest of FY 2011, which ends Sept. 30.
The Senate bill is about $14.5 million less than what President Barack Obama requested (.pdf file) for the year, but is more than the House Republican proposal (.pdf file), which would cut OSHA’s budget by $99 million, returning the agency to 2004 levels.
The Democrats’ bill also would boost Mine Safety and Health Administration funding to $367.3 million – $11.5 million more than the House proposal and $6.5 million more than Obama’s request.
