Thursday, March 9, 2023: White House Budget Proposal Is Unrealistic, a Nonstarter for Congress and Sets the Stage for a Political Fight Over the U.S. Debt Ceiling
Requested OFCCP Budget is Again Unrealistic
OFCCP Also Requested Two-Year Budget Authority
President Biden announced his $6.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2024. As of our WIR publication deadline, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had not published the Appendix to the FY 2024 Budget document, which contains the specific allocations for each agency. However, the Department of Labor (DOL) posted its Congressional Budget Justification (“CBJ”) with details on the requested amounts allocated for each subagency within the Department. Neither the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) nor the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) had published their CBJs as of our WIR publication deadline.
Labor Department’s Specific Budget Requests
The list below details the amounts the DOL requested in its FY 2024 CBJ compared with the numbers allocated in the FY 2023 appropriations law. The percentage increase numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest two decimal points. “FTEs” stands for full-time equivalent employees. Page references below are all to the print copy pages (to match up with the Table of Contents) of the CBJ. (Also see the DOL’s landing page on the FY 2024 budget.)
Overall, the President requested $15.1 billion for the USDOL (page 6), which is a $1.5 billion boost over the $13.6 billion in the enacted FY 2023 budget. That marks an 11.03 percentage increase for the Department of Labor as a whole.
OFCCP (page 37) – 36.48% increase sought:
OFCCP’s FY 2024 request is $151,462,000 and 620 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $110,976,000 and 495 FTEs.
The OFCCP request “includes a program increase of $36,075,000 and 125 FTEs to increase the agency’s workforce and technological capacity as our country makes a once-in-a-generation investment in its infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and other key Federal investments in our economy,” the USDOL CBJ noted.
“In addition, the FY 2024 Budget requests that the OFCCP annual appropriation become two-year funding. With two-year budget authority, OFCCP would have greater Labor capacity to maintain staffing even if operating under a continuing resolution,” the USDOL CBJ stated.
Other DOL Agencies
Bureau of Labor Statistics (page 49) – 20.37% increase sought:
The BLS FY 2024 request is $758,302,000 and 2,263 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $629,952,000.
Note: the above numbers do not include the “Trust Funds” line item, which has consistently been $68,000 for FY 2022 (enacted), FY 2023 (enacted), & the FY 2024 request.
Employment and Training Administration (page 7) – 6.76% increase sought:
ETA’s FY 2024 request is $4,420,684,000. Its FY 2023 allocation was $4,140,911,000.
Office of Disability Employment Policy (page 57) – 40.81% increase sought:
ODEP’s FY 2024 request is $60,549,000 and 64 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $43,000,000 and 60 FTEs.
Office of Labor-Management Standards (page 40) – 10.21% increase sought:
The OLMS FY 2024 request is $53,469,000 and 226 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $48,515,000 and 208 FTEs.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (page 42) – 16.82% increase sought:
OSHA’s FY 2024 request is $738,668,000 and 2,505 FTEs. FY 2023 allocation was $632,309,000 and 2,073 FTEs.
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (page 62) – 3.66% increase sought:
The VETS FY 2024 request is $347,627,000 and 265 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $335,341,000 and 237 FTEs.
Wage and Hour Division (page 34) – 31.14% increase sought:
WHD’s FY 2024 request is $340,953,000 and 1,863 FTEs. Its FY 2023 allocation was $260,000,000 and 1,474 FTEs. Thus, the request marks a 31.14 percentage increase.
Note: The above numbers do not include the “Wage Hour H-1B” line-item budget numbers.
EEOC – 5.71% increase & NLRB – 25.66% increase sought
Although the Biden Administration has yet to post its proposed numbers for the EEOC or NLRB, Law360 reported this.
The President proposed increasing the EEOC budget to $481,000,000, according to Law360. The EEOC’s FY 2023 allocation was $455,000,000.
According to Law360, the President is requesting $376,000,000 for the NLRB. Its FY 2023 allocation was $299,224,000.
Assorted reaction statements
Following the announcement, various politicians and advocacy groups issued the typical round of reaction statements. Some of the various statements include:
- President Biden’s statement;
- Outgoing Secretary of Labor’s Marty Walsh’s statement;
- Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) statement;
- House Education and the Workforce Committee (EWC) Chairwoman Virginia Foxx’s (R-NC) statement; and
- House EW Ranking Member Bobby Scott’s (D-VA-03) statement.