FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep 2, 2025
CONTACT:
Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy, (614) 205-6424, [email protected]
Dana Kuhnline, Program Director at ReImagine Appalachia, (304) 825-3262, [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Labor Day, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services released its draft funding proposal for Fiscal Year 2026, proposing funding levels for numerous worker protection agencies including the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
The subcommittee proposed a more than 10% cut to the budget for MSHA, which is responsible for enforcing laws that protect miners from dangerous working conditions and black lung disease. Under the subcommittee’s proposal, the agency’s funding would be cut to $348.2 million, down from $387.8 million.
Additionally, the draft bill proposes a nearly 15% cut to the budget for NIOSH, which runs the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program that provides health screenings for coal miners to determine whether miners have black lung disease. The Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program also administers the Part 90 transfer program, which allows miners with black lung disease to continue working in less dusty parts of a mine. In addition, NIOSH approves respirators for miners, and conducts research on black lung disease. Under the subcommittee’s proposal, the agency’s funding would be cut to $312.7 million, down from $362.8 million.
The subcommittee meets at 5 p.m. today to vote on amendments and whether to advance the bill to the full committee.
Statement from Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy at Appalachian Voices:
“For decades, coal miners have been at the front lines of the fight for labor rights – putting their own lives at risk to secure better pay, safer working conditions, and better benefits for all workers. House Republicans are dishonoring this history on Labor Day by proposing to dismantle these hard-won victories and gut the agencies that protect miners. We urge Congressman Riley Moore and all coal state members of Congress to reject these proposed cuts to miner health and safety.”
Statement from Dana Kuhnline, Program Director at Reimagine Appalachia:
“Workers are the foundation of our economy; miners’ work and sacrifice has powered our country for generations. History has shown us time and again that if safeguards are not firmly in place, miners’ safety will be sacrificed in favor of short-term profits. Cutting safety is never the answer, and these congressional actions are putting our miners directly at risk. Workers deserve good, stable, safe jobs and their families deserve the peace of mind that their loved ones will come home safe at the end of their shift.”