Congress Urged to Preserve Funding to Prevent Worker Injuries
January 7, 2013 - Three major safety organizations are urging Congress to support stable funding levels for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in order to save key programs aimed at preventing worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
The National Safety Council (NSC), American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) represent tens of thousands of occupational safety, health, environmental and industrial hygiene professionals, businesses and workers. They issued a joint letter on Nov. 26 that urged Senator Tom Harkin, chair of the Senate Labor – HHS – Education appropriations Subcommittee, to continue supporting funding levels for OSHA and NIOSH in the current budgeting process.
If funding levels are reduced for OSHA and NIOSH during fiscal year 2013, then efforts to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses will be jeopardized.
The joint letter asked Sen. Harkin to urge appropriators to adopt Senate funding levels during budget negotiations to prevent proposed efforts to eliminate funding for vital programs, including NIOSH’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector program and Education and Research Centers. The agriculture, forestry and fishing industries have the highest worker fatality rates of any industry in the U.S., with 580 deaths in 2010
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