Pou and DeSaulnier Lead 26 Congressmembers Demanding Preservation of Chemical Safety Board

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmembers Nellie Pou (D-NJ) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) are leading 26 House Democrats demanding the protection of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, whose future is under threat by the Trump administration.

“We write to express serious concerns regarding the recent proposal to dissolve the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), a vital independent federal government agency, by October 2026. We urge you to reverse your decision to close the CSB, and to preserve the agency so that it can continue performing essential investigative and advisory work,” the members write the White House.

The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating catastrophic industrial chemical incidents and developing new safety recommendations to prevent recurrence. Since its creation in 1998, the CSB has deployed to more than 170 chemical incidents and issued more than 1,000 recommendations targeting safety improvements related to chemical incidents across various industries.

Full text of the members’ letter is below.

Dear President Trump:

We write to express serious concerns regarding the recent proposal to dissolve the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), a vital independent federal government agency, by October 2026. We urge you to reverse your decision to close the CSB, and to preserve the agency so that it can continue performing essential investigative and advisory work.

Authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating catastrophic industrial chemical incidents and developing new safety recommendations to prevent recurrence. The reviews conducted by CSB are thorough and technical, and provide a sound framework for regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to improve environmental, workplace, and safety conditions. The CSB is a unique agency that neither regulates nor penalizes the chemical industry, but works collaboratively with industry, labor, and other stakeholders to advise and develop proactive guidance to avert future disasters. Industry leaders like the American Chemistry Council (ACC) know the “value [of] the work of the CSB and want to see it continue.”

Since its creation in 1998, the CSB has deployed to more than 170 chemical incidents and issued more than 1,000 recommendations targeting safety improvements related to chemical incidents across various industries. CSB is a lean and efficient agency; with its minimal $14.4 million FY24 budget and approximately 40 staff, it makes our communities safer, while reducing business liabilities and thwarting potential disaster remediation costs. The CSB has long received strong bipartisan support for saving taxpayers, and communities, far more than the small cost of prevention. As many devastating chemical incidents amass hundreds of millions of dollars in property and economic damages, the prevention of one disaster would save multiples of the CSB’s total FY24 budget. With U.S. chemical accidents happening nearly every two days, we cannot afford to lose the CSB.

We thank you for your consideration of this request, and hope that you will continue to support this essential agency.

Sincerely,

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