MSHA recently released its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Congressional Budget Justification, the agency’s proposed budget to Congress providing insight into its priorities for the coming year.
Overall, MSHA is requesting nearly a 10 percent cut compared to FY2026. This is part of the Department of Labor’s broader request for a 26 percent reduction.
By the numbers
So, where is MSHA finding these savings? Partly through workforce attrition.
The FY2027 Budget Justification requests funding for 1,590 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, down from 1,635 in FY2026. That number held steady between FY2025 and FY2026.
The proposed reduction reflects a decrease of 228 FTE through attrition, offset by an increase of 183 FTE focused on education and training programs, as well as regulatory and data analytics. Regulatory and data analytics is simply a rebranding of a group that combines standards development with program evaluations, data processes, reporting and analytics.
MSHA also proposes eliminating the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants program. Named in remembrance of the 25 miners who died in the Brookwood, Alabama, and Sago Mine disasters, the program funds educational and training initiatives focused on mine safety. Congress established it as part of the 2006 MINER Act. The budget justification offers no real explanation for the proposed elimination, stating only that it would “improve administrative efficiency.”
Of course, this is not the final budget. Congress controls the purse strings and can pass a budget that reduces, maintains or even increases MSHA’s funding. As for the Brookwood-Sago grants program, Congress created it – and only Congress can eliminate it.
Stated priorities
In its overview section, the budget justification echoes the priorities of Wayne Palmer, assistant secretary of labor for MSHA. It emphasizes one of MSHA’s core statutory duties: mine inspections.
With reduced resources, MSHA will continue to try to perform its full complement of “twos and fours” nationwide.
Beyond this core responsibility, the overview reflects Palmer’s goal of modernizing MSHA through technology and updated standards. On the technology front, the budget justification details AI initiatives Palmer mentioned in his previous congressional testimony – including tools to assist inspectors in the field.
One such tool is an AI-powered helmet. The budget justification describes a wearable headset that would give inspectors a heads-up display to “detect non-compliance, equipment wear and safety hazards” while also creating a digital record of each inspection. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. The assistant secretary has spoken about testing these helmets in a pilot program at metal/nonmetal surface mines.
Conclusion
For mine operators, this budget justification offers clues about MSHA’s priorities for the coming year.
First and foremost, it signals that MSHA wants to continue its core mission: protecting miners through regular inspections. Even with fewer FTE positions in the budget, operators should not expect fewer inspections. But neither should they expect a surge in inspector hiring, as the budget includes a reduction of 46 FTE positions in enforcement. For now, it would seem that the threat of impact inspections no longer looms over operators.
Still, some of these expectations should be tempered. The budget reflects the number of positions funded – not necessarily the number of positions currently filled. In other words, MSHA may still be hiring inspectors to fill existing vacancies.
And what about those AI helmets? While many are certainly skeptical of rushing to use AI for every problem, there is a great deal of curiosity about what this pilot program will reveal. Based on our experience, MSHA inspectors have no trouble finding violations – even minor ones – during inspections. It seems unlikely that an AI camera would find a missing cover plate that an inspector’s trained eye would overlook.
As for the Brookwood-Sago grants program, history would indicate that it will continue. Congress created this program to honor miners who lost their lives and to find improvements in mine safety. Eliminating it would be a tough vote for any legislator. The budget proposal may call for its elimination, but Congress has the final say. Historically, programs with this kind of symbolic significance tend to endure.
Zachary T. Byers is with the national labor, employment and safety law firm Ogletree Deakins.
Related: A resolution to reevaluate the routine at mine sites
