President’s 2020 Budget Expands Opportunities for America’s Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor released the following statement regarding President Trump's fiscal year 2020 Budget. The President's Budget supports American workers by funding investments in proven programs that lead to family-sustaining jobs, makes critical investments in worker protection programs, supports our nation's veterans, and reforms or eliminates ineffective or duplicative programs.

"The President's Budget would strengthen our commitment to creating good, family-sustaining career paths for America's workforce," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. "The budget expands apprenticeship opportunities, aids military families, and outlines government reforms that will save taxpayer dollars."

"The President's Budget released today will allow the Department of Labor to continue to support the greatest workforce in the world, the American workforce."

The FY 2020 discretionary budget is $10.9 billion. This funding, in addition to mandatory investments and reforms, supports the Department's integral duty to help Americans to meet the demands of a growing economy, improve working conditions, and advance career opportunities.

FY 2020 Department of Labor Budget Highlights:

• Develops a skilled workforce by investing $160 million in apprenticeships to fill family-sustaining careers in a job market with a record number of open jobs and create new opportunities in industries where apprenticeship is underutilized.
• The budget also proposes to double the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act fee for the H-1B program, using the increased revenue to expand apprenticeships in industries such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, and health care.
• Supports Transitioning Service members' move to civilian life by increasing funding for the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Funds would enhance the quality of employment support services for transitioning service members, with a focus on improved outcomes.
• Protects the rights of more than 143 million American workers through the administration of existing worker protection laws. This includes:
• $558 million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) represents slight increase to help ensure workers are safe on the job, including additional resources for additional Compliance Safety and Health Officer Staff.
• $376 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) commitment to protecting the safety of the nation's miners while creating an enforcement structure that provides flexibilities to address industry changes and maximize the efficient use of resources with a $2.2 million increase.
• $233 million for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to protect the minimum standards for wages and working conditions in U.S. workplaces, a $3.6 million increase over FY 2019, to improve compliance assistance and ensure workers receive fair wages.
• $194 million for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), including an increase of $10 million to help employers and self-employed workers form associations and obtain health coverage in large group markets with more bargaining power.
• $49 million for the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) to administer safeguards for labor union democracy, including a funding increase of $7 million that will strengthen protections for union members by supporting more audits and investigations.
• Provides new parents with at least six weeks of paid family leave to support new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents, balance the competing demands of both work and family. The proposal will allow states to establish programs most appropriate for their workforce and economy.
• Modernizes the Federal Employees' Compensation Act program by incorporating longstanding recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Changes will generate cost savings by simplifying benefit rates, introducing fraud prevention controls, and modernizing benefit administration.
• Proposes commonsense reforms, such as requesting Congressional authorization to cover the operating costs for foreign labor certification programs through fees paid for by employers who use these programs. This ensures a workload-based source of funding that places responsibility for funding the program on its users rather than taxpayers.
• Improves the Department's efficiency by centralizing administrative actions such as human resources, information technology services, security, and procurement, and eliminating or reforming ineffective programs. The Department seeks to continue modernizing programs such as Job Corps to better serve Americans. These changes will allow flexibilities to better allocate resources and eliminating duplication.