“The small independent agency that investigates industrial chemical incidents and hazards is “withering away,” according to an environmental nonprofit, which hopes the incoming Biden administration makes it more of a priority.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released a report on Thursday, first shared with Government Executive, about how the Chemical Safety Board has been declining under the Trump administration. This was one of the agencies President Trump proposed to cut in his first budget request in 2017, which led to employees saying they felt “pressured” to give it higher Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey ratings, so Congress would not eliminate it (the chairperson at the time disputed that and said the ratings were due to management improvements). Trump proposed to zero out the agency’s funding in the subsequent years of his administration, but Congress never acted on the plan.”
