OSHA's Voluntary Safety Program Gets Inspection Exemptions—and a Budget Floor

What it does

This bill authorizes and codifies the Department of Labor's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), renaming it after former Senator Michael Enzi. The program recognizes employers who voluntarily adopt comprehensive workplace safety systems, including hazard assessment, prevention programs, and employee training. Participating employers receive exemptions from routine OSHA inspections in exchange for annual self-evaluations, onsite audits by DOL representatives, and demonstrated commitment to worker safety—at no cost to employers.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a voluntary employer recognition and incentive program that trades regulatory exemptions for demonstrated safety excellence. It is neither deregulation nor a mandate, but a negotiated exchange of compliance burden for safety performance.

What the text implies

• Exemption from programmed inspections may reduce the frequency of independent safety audits at participating worksites, potentially weakening deterrence and workers' ability to trigger inspections if new hazards emerge between scheduled audits.
• The bill requires DOL to spend at least 5% of OSHA's annual budget on the program, potentially diverting resources from enforcement and inspection of non-participating employers.
• Onsite evaluations by the program are explicitly shielded from OSHA enforcement citations, creating a separate audit track with no citation authority—hazards must be corrected within 90 days or 'as soon as practicable,' but violations are not formally cited.
• The program's success depends on employer self-reporting and voluntary compliance; workers have no independent right to demand audits or challenge employer self-evaluations.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Workers benefit from employers' formalized safety commitments and the incentive structure that encourages comprehensive hazard management. However, exempting participating worksites from programmed inspections reduces the frequency of independent regulatory oversight, potentially weakening deterrence against safety violations and limiting workers' ability to trigger inspections if hazards emerge between audits.

Who stands to gain

• employers participating in the voluntary protection program
• software and platform vendors (nonprofit or commercial) contracted to modernize program administrati

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Secretary of Labor, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Michael Enzi (namesake, deceased former U.S. Senator), Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Sep 17, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Sep 17, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 16”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,036,377 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Diana Harshbarger, the sponsor, reported $727,520 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $2,000 of that came from 1 PAC tied to these lobbying clients.

• National Association of Wholesaler-distributors — $880,000 on 2 filings
• Cintas — $540,000 on 2 filings
• National Roofing Contractors Association — $400,000 on 2 filings
• Associated General Contractors of America — $216,377 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.