Why It Matters

Federal workplace safety enforcement is contracting. OSHA's budget is reportedly being cut from $632 million to $582 million, inspections dropped significantly over six months in 2025, and the agency has launched a series of deregulatory rulemakings it describes as modernizing and adding flexibility to workplace safety standards. As the federal safety net shrinks, the House Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections is asking a pointed question: What are private employers doing to fill the gap?

The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie with Rep. Ilhan Omar as Ranking Member, will hold a hearing titled "Building A Safer Future: Private-Sector Strategies For Emerging Safety Issues" on May 13 at 2:15 p.m. in 2175 Rayburn House Office Building.

The Policy Backdrop

The hearing arrives as a cluster of federal developments has sharpened the debate over who bears responsibility for worker safety. Just days before the hearing, OSHA launched its 13th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, an event that calls on private employers to proactively address fall hazards - the leading cause of construction fatalities. The Stand-Down's framing, voluntary employer action rather than regulatory mandate, mirrors the hearing's own premise.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in February 2026, providing the statistical backdrop for the debate. Private industry recorded a total recordable case rate of 2.3 per 100 full-time equivalent workers, down slightly from 2.4 the prior year, but labor advocates have argued that reduced federal inspection activity makes those numbers harder to trust.

The AFL-CIO's annual "Death on the Job" report, which typically lands in late April and documents fatalities, inspection rates, and funding levels, was expected in the weeks immediately before the hearing, potentially adding additional pressure on the committee to act.

Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Biggs reintroduced the Nullify OSHA Act in February 2025, which would abolish the agency entirely and shift oversight to states and private employers. The bill has not advanced, but its reintroduction signals the ideological range of the conversation the subcommittee is navigating.

Lobbying Activity

The industries with the most direct stake in how Congress frames private-sector safety obligations have been active on Capitol Hill.

The National Football League has lobbied consistently on player safety, stadium security, and drone safety across multiple filings spanning the first and second quarters of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, with total reported spending across those filings exceeding $2.7 million. The NFL has also tracked the Access to AEDs Act alongside its broader safety portfolio.

The American Gaming Association has reported more than $2.4 million in lobbying across the same period, with filings that specifically address responsible gaming, gambling addiction treatment through the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment Act, anti-human trafficking measures, and the SAFE Bet Act. The AGA has framed gambling addiction and consumer protection as emerging safety issues requiring private-sector engagement.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has reported more than $1 million in lobbying, with filings covering stadium safety, student-athlete health and safety, concussion prevention under the Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act, and mental health access through the Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act.

On the workplace safety side, multiple organizations have filed disclosures targeting OSHA's proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Rule, with filings directly referencing OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2021-0009. Fall prevention in construction, NIOSH funding preservation, and general manufacturing safety policy have each drawn sustained lobbying activity totaling more than $1 million in disclosed spending over the past year.

The Subcommittee

The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections sits within the broader House Education and Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over labor standards, workplace safety, and related education issues. Committee members include Reps. Tim Walberg, Glenn Grothman, Mary Miller, Mark Messmer, James Comer Jr., and Randy Fine on the Republican side, and Reps. Bobby Scott, Mark Takano, Greg Casar, Haley Stevens, and Ilhan Omar on the Democratic side.

The hearing has no witnesses listed in the public record as of publication and no specific legislation attached to the record, leaving the scope of the Education and Workforce Committee hearing deliberately broad, a format that typically allows members to surface competing frameworks before legislation is drafted.

The Bottom Line

The central tension heading into the congressional hearing in May 2026 is straightforward: as federal enforcement capacity declines, private sector safety initiatives become the primary protection for millions of workers, and Congress has not yet determined whether to codify, incentivize, or simply applaud them.

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