Last week, the Trump Administration released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027. The budget is not binding – it is a blueprint for the President’s spending priorities for the coming year and a starting point for negotiations in Congress. Given the narrow margins in the House and the Senate and the persistent stalemates over appropriation bills, it is unlikely that many of these initiatives will be enacted as proposed.

The budget includes a 44% increase in funding for defense programs and a 10% cut for non-defense spending. Within those totals, here are some key infrastructure, transportation, as well as EHS program accounts of interest to the EHS communities of practice:

Department of Labor

Seeks to cut the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) budget by roughly 7.5%–8% (approx. $47 million) and proposes deep cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Key plans include cutting OSHA enforcement, eliminating training grants:
  • OSHA Cuts: The proposal reduces OSHA’s budget from $629.3 million to $582.4 million, decreasing staff by over 200 positions and cutting the Susan Harwood Training Grant program.
  • NIOSH Cuts: The administration sought a massive reduction for NIOSH, with some reports suggesting an 80-percent reduction, aiming to eliminate Health Hazard Evaluations and training programs.

Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)

The Trump administration’s FY2027 budget proposal, released on April 3, 2026, proposes the complete elimination of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). This marks the administration’s second consecutive attempt to shutter the agency after a similar proposal was made for FY2026.

  • Congressional Pushback: In the FY2026 cycle, despite the administration’s request to zero out the agency, Congress ultimately provided the CSB with $14 million in funding through January 2026.

Department of Transportation

  • Proposes a 2% increase in highway and transit programs funded through the Highway Trust Fund
  • Eliminates supplemental advanced appropriations, a $36.8 billion reduction from the last year of the IIJA, and rescinds $4.2 billion in unspent electric vehicle charging infrastructure funds
  • $4 billion for FAA Facilities and Equipment and $4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program, level with FY 2026
  • Adds $770 million for INFRA projects of national and regional significance and $714 million for bridge reconstruction and repair
  • Reduces FTA capital investment grants to $1.2 billion, $485 million below FY 2026
  • Requests $2.1 billion for Amtrak, $327 million below 2026, and $300 million for rail infrastructure grants
  • Proposes $1.4 billion for a new maritime security trust fund to bolster domestic shipbuilding, and $450 million for port infrastructure development
  • Eliminates RAISE, MEGA, and Safe Streets and Roads for All grants

Environmental Protection Agency

  • Funds EPA at $4.2 billion, a 52% decrease from FY 2026
  • $14 million for web-based permitting tools to streamline permitting timelines
  • $122 million to fund EPA’s drinking water mission
  • $1 billion for Great Salt Lake restoration and protection
  • Proposes a 90% cut to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds – the same as what was proposed last year and rejected by Congress
  • Eliminates EPA’s Environmental Justice programming; Categorical Grants; additional funding for Superfund, and cuts funding for R&D

Department of Interior

  • Funds the Interior Department at $2.3 billion, a 12.9% decrease from FY 2026
  • Proposes to consolidate Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act permitting into one program
  • Proposes to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund for deferred maintenance on public lands at $1.9 billion per year for 5 years
  • Eliminates funding for the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSmart grants
  • Reduces funding for U.S. Geological Survey

Department of Energy

  • Proposes increasing National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) funding by over $3.5 billion, which includes programs to ensure the safe and secure storage of nuclear material
  • $3.5 billion for new Office of Baseload Power to fund activities to enhance baseload power, including building and upgrading grid infrastructure and equipment
  • $1.2 billion for new Office of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum (AIQ) to support AI and Quantum Information Science activities that include data center infrastructure and AI-enabling energy systems
  • $1.1 billion for new Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) to support processing facilities, mine infrastructure, and supply chain development
  • $676 million for Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy (HGEO) to conduct research, development, demonstration, and deployment relating to hydrocarbon and geothermal resources
  • Cuts $200 million in funding for ARPA-E, 43% below last year’s enacted level, for early-stage energy R&D that includes energy storage and energy efficiency technologies
  • Decreases $1.1 billion for DOE Office of Science from last year’s enacted level, which supports funding for the national lab facilities
  • Proposes $3 billion cut for the hydrogen hub program

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

  • Cuts funding by $3.8 billion, a 37% reduction, mostly to civil works projects used to maintain ports and harbors (by comparison, Congress appropriated $10.44 billion for USACE in FY 2026)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Proposes a $1.3 billion reduction to FEMA non-disaster grant programs