President’s 2019 Budget Represents Strong Commitment To the American Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today commented on President Donald J. Trump’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget request for the U.S. Department of Labor. Through targeted investments and common sense reforms, the Department’s budget request supports the President’s continued efforts to create good, safe jobs for the American people.

“The President’s budget provides a fiscally responsible framework to advance the Department of Labor’s mission of ensuring all Americans have access to family-sustaining jobs,” said Secretary Acosta. “From addressing the skills gap through apprenticeships to prioritizing workplace safety, this budget reflects a strong commitment to the American workforce. It also includes important reforms to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to maximum effect.”

The FY 2019 request for the Department of Labor is $10.9 billion in discretionary budget authority, paired with mandatory investments and reforms. 

Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Labor Budget Request Highlights:

• Equips Americans with the skills they need to fill open, high-paying jobs by increasing investment to $200 million in apprenticeships, a proven earn-while-you-learn strategy. Apprenticeships match job creators with job seekers, furthering the goal of a skilled American workforce.
• Places a priority on helping protect American workers through robust enforcement of worker safety laws and compliance assistance outreach.  The budget includes:
  • $549 million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to help ensure workers are safe on the job, providing $135 million for federal and state compliance assistance activities to enhance employer outreach and training.
  • $230 million for the Wage and Hour Division to protect wages and working conditions in U.S. workplaces, including a funding increase of $4 million to educate employers on how to comply with the law.
  • $376 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, reflecting a strong commitment to enforcement, compliance assistance, training, and innovative technologies to protect the safety and health of the nation’s miners.
  • $190 million for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, providing a $2 million increase to provide interpretive guidance, enforcement, oversight activities, and compliance assistance.
  • $47 million for the Office of Labor-Management Standards to administer safeguards for labor union democracy and financial integrity, including a funding increase of $3 million to re-establish the International Compliance Audit Program.
• Protects the American workforce by requesting Congressional authorization to cover the operating costs for foreign labor certification programs through fees paid by employers who use these programs. This will ensure that only employers who use the program pay for it instead of funding it from tax dollars, and the program will have a more reliable, workload-based source of funding that ultimately eliminates the need for appropriations.
• Provides for paid family leave for new parents.  The Budget invests in a better future for Americans with a proposal to provide six weeks of paid family leave to new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents, so all families can afford to take time to recover from childbirth and bond with a new child. 
• Reforms the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act program by modernizing program administration, simplifying benefit rates, and introducing controls to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Creates a more accountable and efficient Department by centralizing administrative activities such as procurement, human resources, financial management, and security within the Department to improve oversight, eliminate duplication, and save money. The Budget also provides the Department with flexibilities to better allocate resources to fund IT modernization.