Washington — The Department of Health and Human Services is looking to cut certain programs that NIOSH runs and consolidate the agency with others under a newly formed National Center for Chemicals and Toxins.
According to HHS’ fiscal year 2027 budget in brief, published April 3, NCCT would be part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Along with NIOSH, it would comprise:
- The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- The National Center for Environmental Health
- The National Center for Toxicological Research
- The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences
NCCT would include NIOSH’s Respirator Approval and Mining Research programs, along with its Firefighter Cancer Registry.
The respirator approval program “evaluates and approves all respirators used in American workplaces and serves as a critical component of the nation’s public health and occupational safety infrastructure,” the budget in brief states.
However, HHS is seeking to cut the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), which has a $120.5 million budget in FY 2026. Also on the proposed chopping block are line items: “other occupational safety and health research” ($115.1 million) and “education and research centers” ($32 million).
Congress is expected to weigh in with its budget bills over the coming months.
For FY 2026, HHS sought to consolidate NIOSH into the Administration for a Healthy America along with:
- The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
In March 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to cut more than 870 NIOSH employees. However, about two months later, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the House Appropriations Committee that the department had reinstated 328 employees, including those within the agency’s Respirator Approval Program and Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program.
Earlier this year, the administration rescinded its layoff notices for hundreds of NIOSH employees. Not known is the exact number of employees who received the notices and which divisions reinstated employees. Also unknown is the number of employees who ultimately returned to the agency after being away for months.
Enacted in February, the Consolidated Appropriations Act increased NIOSH’s budget by $4 million for FY 2026. The $366.8 million allocated to the agency was roughly 1.1% more than in FY 2025.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication