In a technical supplement to its 2026 budget released in June, the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requested $0 for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board for the coming fiscal year (FY) that starts in October.
“The president's budget proposes eliminating funding for several independent agencies, including the CSB as part of the administration's plans to move the nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the federal government,” states the document. “CSB duplicates capabilities in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for investigating chemical-related mishaps. CSB generates unprompted studies of the chemical industry, and recommends policies it has no authority to create or enforce. This function should reside within agencies that have authorities to issue regulations in accordance with applicable legal standards.”
It adds that CSB’s unobligated balances, namely its close to $850,000 emergency fund, would only be available for expenses need to close it by the end of FY 2025 in September, and any other amounts would be permanently cancelled.
The first Trump Administration tried to defund the CSB several times, but it was blocked by Congress’ narrow Democratic majority at the time. This time, the legislature’s narrow Republican majority is reportedly more likely to go along with defunding the CSB.
In a June 24 letter to the White House, U.S. representatives Nellie Pou (NJ-9) and Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) joined 26 other Democratic members of Congress to demand that CSB be protected and preserved:
“We write to express serious concerns regarding the recent proposal to dissolve the CSB, a vital independent federal government agency. We urge you to reverse your decision to close the CSB, and preserve it, so it can continue performing essential investigative and advisory work.”
Since its creation in 1998, the CSB has deployed to more than 170 chemical incidents and issued more than 1,000 recommendations targeting safety improvements related to chemical incidents across various industries.
“CSB is a lean and efficient agency. With its minimal $14.4 million FY24 budget and approximately 40 staff, it makes our communities safer, while reducing business liabilities and thwarting potential disaster remediation costs,” added the letter. “The CSB has long received strong bipartisan support for saving taxpayers and communities far more than the small cost of prevention. As many devastating chemical incidents amass hundreds of millions of dollars in property and economic damages, preventing one disaster would save multiples of the CSB’s total FY24 budget. With U.S. chemical accidents happening nearly every two days, we can’t afford to lose the CSB.”
Angela Summers, president of SIS-Tech and a member of Control’s Process Automation Hall of Fame, commented, “It breaks my heart to see the Chemical Safety Board, one of the few agencies solely focused on learning from industrial tragedies, struggling for survival. Its modest budget pales in comparison to the cost of a single incident, and yet its insights have saved countless lives. CSB has been indispensable in advancing our understanding of process safety failures. Its investigations go beyond blame. They seek to uncover systemic design, operational, and cultural weaknesses. Losing it will result in the loss of one of our most valuable sources of industry learning.”
Summers explains that process safety is built on learning from the past, and the CSB provides the case studies, technical rigor, and unbiased perspective need to do it well. “We all rely on credible, independent post-incident analysis to improve our systems and safeguard our people. Defunding CSB sends the wrong message about our commitment to safety excellence,” adds Summers. “Its absence would be felt in every design review, HAZOP and MOC discussion that depends on real-world lessons.
“Process safety in the refining, petrochemical and specialty chemical sectors isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a matter of national security and economic stability. The CSB’s investigations have repeatedly exposed vulnerabilities that, left unaddressed, could cripple supply chains and endanger communities. Defunding it ignores the scale of risk we manage every day.”
