ASSP, along with other leading safety and health organizations, signed a formal letter to congressional appropriators urging them to adopt strong FY 2026 funding levels for OSHA and NIOSH. Addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Labor–HHS–Education Appropriations Subcommittees, the letter emphasized that as federal safety agencies face workforce reductions, rising demands and increasingly complex hazards, stable and sufficient funding is essential to sustaining national progress in preventing injuries and fatalities.
OSHA and NIOSH provide foundational services that employers across all industries rely on — including compliance assistance, research, surveillance, training and technical guidance. The letter emphasizes that under-resourced agencies risk delays in critical activities such as rulemaking, hazard evaluation and support for employer-based safety programs. These gaps can undermine prevention efforts at a time when workplaces are confronting new technologies, substance-use challenges, environmental hazards and mental health risks.
The funding request also highlights the interconnected work of OSHA and NIOSH, particularly as NIOSH continues to face staffing reductions that affect long-standing programs such as Education and Research Centers, state occupational health surveillance, sector-specific initiatives and the NIOSH Respirator Approval Program. Ensuring that NIOSH can maintain its scientific capacity is vital to the success of federal safety initiatives and to the evidence base that employers depend on.
Why This Advocacy Matters to Your Work
When federal safety agencies are under-resourced, it can directly impact your ability to ensure a safe workplace.
Preventing Delays in Critical Guidance: Stable funding prevents delays in critical activities like rulemaking, hazard evaluation and compliance assistance. These delays could leave you without the up-to-date standards and technical guidance you need to manage emerging hazards like new technologies, substance-use challenges and mental health risks.
Protecting the Evidence Base: NIOSH provides the scientific capacity and research base that employers across all industries depend on. Underfunding risks staffing reductions in long-standing, vital programs, including those that support education, surveillance and the essential NIOSH Respirator Approval Program.
Reinforcing Data Integrity: This funding push builds on our commitment to a strong, science-driven federal safety infrastructure, which includes ASSP's recent support for protecting the integrity of BLS injury and fatality data. Accurate data is vital for informing policy decisions and supporting the employer-based programs you run.
By advocating for robust, evidence-based investments, ASSP reinforces the national systems that support employers and ultimately help keep workers safe. This effort ensures that the services and data you rely on remain strong and available.