Senator Shelley Moore Capito has sent a formal letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pushing for a return of employees and work at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where hundreds of jobs in Morgantown are on the line.
“I believe in the President’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal. The mission and work conducted by the specially trained NIOSH employees is not duplicative of any other government program,” wrote Capito, R-W.Va.
“I am concerned that the RIFs at NIOSH will undermine the vital health programs important to so many West Virginians. I urge you to bring back the NIOSH employees immediately so they can continue to support our nation’s coal industry.”
Hundreds of workers at the Morgantown facility learned a a little less than a month ago that they would lose their jobs.
The facility conducts research and makes recommendations about preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. For example, the NIOSH Division of Safety Research in Morgantown focuses on preventing occupational injuries through preventing falls, encouraging motor vehicle safety and preventing violence in the workplace.
The Respiratory Health Division focuses on preventing work-related respiratory diseases and improving worker health. The Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program studies respiratory disease in miners and provides health screenings and information, particularly about black lung.
Right now, the landing page for the program notes, “Due to the reduction in force across NIOSH, the NIOSH Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) is not providing any new medical screenings to coal miners or accepting any new requests for review of medical information to determine coal miners’ rights for transfer to low-dust jobs.”
Kennedy’s Health and Human Services agency announced on March 27 a restructuring in line with the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiatives.
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Kennedy said at the time.
“This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”
Congress funds the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health through the appropriations process. Specifically, Congress allocates funding for NIOSH in the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill.
Capito is chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
Capito, who voted to confirm Kennedy and the rest of the Trump cabinet, said early this month that she has been on multiple calls with the Health and Human Services secretary to emphasize the importance of the work at NIOSH.
The letter is to follow up:
“Thank you for taking the time to talk with me regarding the important work CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does to improve and monitor the health care of our coal miners in West Virginia. During our discussion, I was pleased you agreed with me that the work happening at NIOSH is unique across the federal government.
“Now, I ask that the Department bring back not only the functions of the NIOSH coal offices and programs, but also some of the specialized employees impacted by the April 1 HHS-wide Reduction in Force (RIF) who do this important work in Morgantown, West Virginia.”