[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 175 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8483-H8485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1730
     METROPOLITAN AREAS PROTECTION AND STANDARDIZATION ACT OF 2021

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (S. 1941) to direct the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget to standardize the use of core-based 
statistical area designations across Federal programs, to allow between 
120 and 180 days for public comment on any proposed change to such 
designations, and to report on the scientific basis and estimated 
impact to Federal programs for any proposed change to such 
designations, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1941

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Metropolitan Areas 
     Protection and Standardization Act of 2021'' or the ``MAPS 
     Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Federal programs use core-based statistical area 
     delineations to determine the delivery of Federal services, 
     benefits, and funding to people in the United States, such as 
     in criteria for eligibility or distribution.
       (2) Core-based statistical area delineations provide a 
     nationally consistent set of standards for collecting, 
     tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics for geographic 
     areas, and they are not intended for any public or private 
     sector non-statistical uses such as program administration or 
     service delivery.
       (3) Updates to core-based statistical area delineations may 
     cause widespread disruption to the delivery of Federal 
     services, benefits, and funding to people in the United 
     States based on the reliance of Federal programs on these 
     delineations.
       (4) There does not exist any comprehensive list of Federal 
     programs that rely on core-based statistical area 
     delineations. Such a list is valuable for the study of how 
     Federal services, benefits, and funding are distributed to 
     people in the United States.
       (5) Increased transparency on the impacts of any update to 
     core-based statistical area delineations may be overly 
     burdensome due to the anticipated variety of Federal programs 
     that rely on these delineations. Any requirement for complete 
     disclosure of these impacts prior to implementation of new 
     delineations may unintentionally cause the existing 
     delineations to ossify.
       (6) In order to prevent any disruption to service delivery 
     of Federal programs based on updates to core-based 
     statistical area delineations, and ensure the independence of 
     Federal statistical policymaking, Congress must sever the 
     link between future updates to core-based statistical area 
     delineations and any automatic impact on Federal programs 
     that rely on these delineations.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

       This purpose of this Act is to ensure--
       (1) transparency in how core-based statistical area 
     delineations are used in domestic assistance programs; and
       (2) independence of the Office of Management and Budget in 
     establishing and updating core-based statistical area 
     delineations.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Comptroller general.--The term ``Comptroller General'' 
     means the Comptroller General of the United States.
       (3) Core-based statistical area.--The term ``core-based 
     statistical area'' has the

[[Page H8484]]

     meaning given the term by the Office of Management and Budget 
     in the Notice of Decision entitled ``2020 Standards for 
     Delineating Core-Based Statistical Areas'', published in the 
     Federal Register on July 16, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 37770), or 
     any successor to that Notice.
       (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       (5) Domestic assistance program.--The term ``domestic 
     assistance program'' has the meaning given the term in 
     section 6101 of title 31, United States Code.
       (6) Open government data asset.--The term ``open Government 
     data asset'' has the meaning given the term in section 3502 
     of title 44, United States Code.

     SEC. 5. NON-PROPAGATION OF CORE-BASED STATISTICAL AREA 
                   DELINEATIONS.

       (a) Amendment.--Chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 6309. Non-propagation of core-based statistical area 
       delineations

       ``(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of 
     the MAPS Act of 2021, and notwithstanding any other provision 
     of law, any change to the standards of core-based statistical 
     area delineations pursuant to section 3504(e) of title 44--
       ``(1) shall not propagate automatically for any non-
     statistical use by any domestic assistance program, including 
     any such use as required through--
       ``(A) statutory reference to any core-based statistical 
     area delineation; or
       ``(B) administrative or regulatory reference to any core-
     based statistical area delineation; and
       ``(2) shall propagate for any non-statistical use by any 
     domestic assistance program only--
       ``(A) if a relevant agency determines that such a 
     propagation--
       ``(i) supports the purposes of the program; and
       ``(ii) is in the public interest; and
       ``(B) through affirmative adoption through notice-and-
     comment rulemaking pursuant to section 553 of title 5.
       ``(b) Definitions.--The definitions in section 4 of the 
     MAPS Act of 2021 shall apply to this section.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6308 
     the following:

``6309. Non-propagation of core-based statistical area delineations.''.

     SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY OF NON-STATISTICAL USES OF CORE-BASED 
                   STATISTICAL AREA DELINEATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 6102(a)(2) of title 31, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (H);
       (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
     and
       (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
       ``(G) uses of core-based statistical area (as defined in 
     section 4 of the MAPS Act of 2021) delineations (as chosen 
     from standardized categories of uses determined by the 
     Director), for purposes including prime recipient and 
     subrecipient eligibility for, and distribution of, any 
     Federal service, benefit, or funding; and''.
       (b) Content Requirements.--In collecting and reviewing the 
     information required under section 6102(a)(2)(G) of title 31, 
     United States Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this 
     section, the Director shall include as standardized 
     categories--
       (1) whether the most current core-based statistical area 
     delineation has been affirmatively adopted pursuant to 
     section 6309 of title 31, United States Coded, as added by 
     this Act;
       (2) which historical core-based statistical area 
     delineation was maintained, in cases where an updated 
     delineation has not been affirmatively adopted pursuant to 
     section 6309 of title 31, United States Coded, as added by 
     this Act;
       (3) what purpose the core-based statistical area 
     delineation serves, including--
       (A) to determine eligibility for any Federal service, 
     benefit, or funding;
       (B) to determine distribution of any Federal service, 
     benefit, or funding; and
       (C) any other standardized category of purpose determined 
     by the Director;
       (4) whether the use of core-based statistical area 
     delineation directly concerns any--
       (A) prime recipient of any Federal service, benefit, or 
     funding; and
       (B) subrecipient of any Federal service, benefit, or 
     funding; and
       (5) the date when the information collected in this 
     subsection was last updated.
       (c) Accessibility Requirements.--The Director shall ensure 
     that the information collected and reviewed under section 
     6102(a)(2)(G) of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
     subsection (a) of this section, shall be--
       (1) publicly accessible as an open Government data asset;
       (2) presented in a user-friendly visual format with search 
     and download capabilities;
       (3) easily discoverable by the public on relevant 
     government websites; and
       (4) updated not less frequently than once every year.
       (d) Implementation Timeline.--The requirements of this 
     section shall be fully implemented not later than 2 years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 7. INDEPENDENCE, INTEGRITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF CORE-
                   BASED STATISTICAL AREA DELINEATIONS.

       Section 3504(e) of title 44, United States Code, is amended 
     by--
       (1) in paragraph (8)(B)(ii), by striking ``and'' at the 
     end;
       (2) in paragraph (9)(B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(10) ensure that any change to the standards of core-
     based statistical area (as defined in section 4 of the MAPS 
     Act of 2021) delineations pursuant to this subsection shall--
       ``(A) be accompanied by a public report that explains--
       ``(i) the scientific basis, criteria, and methodology for 
     such change to existing standards, including clear 
     quantitative thresholds for determining any future 
     statistical re-delineations; and
       ``(ii) the opinions of domestic and international experts 
     in statistics and demographics, including government experts 
     at the Bureau of the Census and other relevant agencies, who 
     were consulted regarding such change to existing standards;
       ``(B) not be influenced by any non-statistical 
     considerations such as impact on program administration or 
     service delivery; and
       ``(C) not propagate automatically for any non-statistical 
     use by any domestic assistance program (as defined in section 
     4 of the MAPS Act of 2021).''.

     SEC. 8. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.

       Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
     the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
     Representatives a report that--
       (1) assesses the completeness, timeliness, quality, 
     accuracy, accessibility, and usefulness of the information 
     reported pursuant to section 6 and the amendment made by 
     section 6; and
       (2) identifies any Federal programs, including any domestic 
     assistance programs or other programs, that--
       (A) use core-based statistical area delineations for any 
     non-statistical purpose; and
       (B) as of the date of the report, are not reported pursuant 
     to section 6 and the amendment made by section 6; and
       (3) if appropriate, includes any recommendations for 
     Federal agencies or Congress based on the findings described 
     in paragraphs (1) and (2).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise 
and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this 
measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1941, the Metropolitan Areas Protection and 
Standardization, or MAPS Act, focuses on a little-known process at the 
Office of Management and Budget that may seem arcane at first glance, 
but which has profound implications for the way the Federal Government 
serves the people of this Nation.
  OMB maintains a set of standards to ensure consistency across the 
Federal Government in how agencies classify statistics by geographic 
area. These standards determine whether a county is considered 
``metropolitan'' based on its proximity to an urban core. Although 
these standards are supposed to be used solely for statistical 
purposes, they are frequently used by Federal agencies to distribute 
funding, benefits, and programs.
  Every 10 years, OMB considers recommendations from an interagency 
technical advisory committee, with input from the public, to ensure the 
continued relevance of the standards.
  The recommendations for 2020 standards initially included a proposal 
that, for a county to qualify as metropolitan, it must be near an urban 
core with a population of 100,000, doubling the current threshold of 
50,000 people.
  Because this threshold hasn't been changed since it first came into 
use in 1949, the proposed change would have converted 142 metropolitan 
statistical areas from the metropolitan designation to the 
nonmetropolitan designation.
  According to the Brookings Institute, this would have impacted 19 
million people and increased the share of

[[Page H8485]]

America's population residing in nonmetro counties from 14 percent to 
around 20 percent.
  There is currently no inventory of all Federal programs that rely on 
the standard to distribute services, benefits, and funding, and no 
process for ensuring that agencies are equipped to review the impacts 
of potential changes on such programs.
  As a result, what should be a purely statistical standards update 
actually has unknown and potentially profound ramifications for Federal 
program administration, warranting further review.
  While the Standards Review Committee and OMB ultimately chose not to 
recommend or include this change in the final 2020 Standards, 
examination of the recommendation make clear that Congress must ensure 
that these statistical standards can be updated without the risk of 
unintended consequences cascading across the Federal programs and 
policies built around them.
  To accomplish this, the MAPS Act would clarify that changes to the 
standards would not propagate automatically for any nonstatistical use 
by a domestic assistance program. Changes for nonstatistical uses could 
only take effect if the relevant agency determines that they support 
the purposes of the program and are in the public interest, and if such 
changes are affirmatively adopted through notice-and-comment 
rulemaking.
  The bill would also create an inventory of the current uses and 
impacts of the standards in distributing Federal services, benefits, 
funding, creating transparency for both policymakers and the public.
  In short, the MAPS Act puts in place the safeguards needed to ensure 
that the Federal Government's bedrock statistical standards can be 
updated purely based on scientific criteria, without the influence of 
nonstatistical considerations.
  At the same time, it ensures that Federal policies and programs 
continue to operate as intended and are updated with careful 
consideration of their unique goals and impacts.
  I urge my colleagues to support this responsible, good government 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1941, the Metropolitan Areas Protection and 
Standardization Act, or MAPS Act, is a technical but important bill.
  Maintaining government-wide statistical standards may seem mundane, 
but these standards have real-world consequences. We saw this last year 
when the Office of Management and Budget tried to make updates to the 
definition of core-based statistical areas. Out of the 734 public 
comments submitted, 712 comments opposed definitional change. As a 
result, the Office of Management and Budget delayed its proposed 
recommendation.
  Municipalities and other organizations should not feel caught off 
guard by standards changes in the future. The MAPS Act will help 
provide transparency if the Office of Management and Budget tries to 
revise core-based statistical area standards in the future.
  This bill will provide better visibility into how these statistical 
standards are used in Federal domestic assistance programs to determine 
funding eligibility; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National 
Rural Health Association, and the National Association of Counties all 
agree that this legislation is needed.
  I thank Senators Rob Portman and Jerry Moran, as well as Chairman 
Gary Peters, for moving this bipartisan bill through the Senate.
  I also take a moment to thank Carolyn Maloney, the chairwoman, and 
Ranking Member   James Comer for advancing this legislation through the 
House Oversight Committee. I support this legislation, and I encourage 
my colleagues to do the same.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania has no further speakers, then I am prepared to close. 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1941 will provide transparency into the Office of 
Management and Budget's work in the area of statistical standards. This 
bill does not restrict OMB from continuing its work keeping important 
statistical standards up to date. Instead, it provides transparency 
into future revisions of core-based statistical area standards. It also 
provides visibility into use of such standards in Federal domestic 
assistance programs.
  I once again encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
S. 1941, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 1941.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________