Under the Obama adminnistration's proposed 2014 budget for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the whistleblower program would hire 47 new staff members with a $5.9 million increase in its funding to $21.8. Meanwhile, the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) would be cut by 33 positions.

Explained OSHA head David Michaels:

“To focus on the integrity and modernization of OSHA’s cooperative programs and reduce the backlog of VPP recertifications, the agency will slow the growth in the number of new cooperative program participants,” Michaels said.