President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) states that the President’s budget proposes to eliminate funding for CSB as part of the Trump Administration’s plans “to move the Nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the Federal Government.” The President’s budget request proposes $0 for CSB in FY 2026 with the expectation that CSB begin closing down during FY 2025. CSB’s emergency fund of $844,145 will be appropriated to cover costs associated with closing down the agency.

Authorized by the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990, CSB is an independent federal agency created to investigate chemical accidents that cause death, serious injury, or substantial property damage. Section 7412(r)(6) of Title 42 of the U.S.C. states that CSB members, officers, and employees “shall not be responsible to or subject to supervision or direction . . . of any officer or employee or agent of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Labor or any other agency of the United States except that the President may remove any member, officer or employee of the Board for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” According to the FY 2026 budget request, “CSB duplicates substantial capabilities in [EPA] and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate chemical-related mishaps.” The budget request states that “CSB generates unprompted studies of the chemical industry and recommends policies that they have no authority to create or enforce. This function should reside within agencies that have authorities to issue regulations in accordance with applicable legal standards.”

President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) proposes to reorganize and transfer the functions of CPSC to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Secretary as the Assistant Secretary for Consumer Product Safety (ASCPS). The budget request states that “[u]ntil the enactment of authorizing legislation to reorganize, the CPSC will continue to carry out its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury from consumer products as a standalone agency.” Under the budget request, the ASCPS would receive $135 million, $15.975 million below the FY 2025 enacted budget, to support 459 full-time equivalents (FTE) and operational costs, a reduction of 75 FTEs from the FY 2025 enacted budget.

CPSC was created in 1972 under the Consumer Product Safety Act as an independent federal agency to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products; assist consumers in evaluating the comparative safety of consumer products; develop uniform safety standards for consumer products and minimize conflicting state and local regulations; and promote research and investigation into the causes and prevention of product-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. According to the FY 2026 budget request, “CPSC recommends that the budget, programs, and strategic goals set forward herein be used as a basis for ASCPS to model its future operations.”