April 2, 2025 - On March 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a dramatic restructuring in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order, “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative” that includes reduction in force for The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) including its mining program.

The HHS restructuring plan will consolidate the 28 current divisions into 15 new divisions including the new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) and it aims to reduce the federal workforce by approximately 10,000 full time employees. NIOSH is one of multiple agencies that will be combined for the creation of the AHA.

On April 1, the NIOSH Mining Program leadership was put on administrative leave with a termination date of June 2, 2025 and bargaining unit employees are expected to work until June 30, 2025. This effectively closes all NIOSH Mining Program activities.

The NIOSH Mining Program has a staff of more than 100 mining researchers, many subject matter experts and unique facilities constructed over 110-years. Since the 1996 U.S. Congressional decision to cease funding of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the NIOSH Mining Program has been the only federal agency supporting the mining industry through health and safety research.

NIOSH was created by Congress in 1970 to study worker safety and health.

CBS News reported that multiple officials said that new “health hazard evaluation” probes by NIOSH had been paused for several weeks under travel and communication restrictions imposed soon after the Trump administration took over.

Cuts are expected at NIOSH’s Pittsburgh and Spokane offices, where some 200 staff are expected to be impacted, according to a notice sent to their union.

HHS said in a statement, “Creation of the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), which will combine multiple agencies — the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) — into a new, unified entity. This centralization will improve coordination of health resources for low-income Americans and will focus on areas including, primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS, and workforce development. Transferring SAMHSA to AHA will increase operational efficiency and assure programs are carried out because it will break down artificial divisions between similar programs.”

The NIOSH Mining Program has managed a contracts and grants program since 2007 (as authorized in the MINER Act of 2006) that has had a significant impact on mineworker health and safety. Out of 237 contracts, 161 were issued through a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) where the offer proposes a unique health and safety solution and 24 were through a Request for Proposal (RFP).  These contracts, of modest amount (averaging $350,000) went to companies (60 percent) and universities (40 percent). The total contract expenditure to date is $103 million.

The NIOSH Capacity Build contract is one of the primary sources of research funding for 13 of the 14 ABET-accredited mining schools. Of 47 grants totaling $63.3 million, the majority went to universities ($55.3 million) to support research but a number of companies were funded ($8 million total) to support innovative H&S solutions.