[Senate Report 117-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 349
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-98
_______________________________________________________________________
MAPS ACT OF 2021
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
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
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
April 27, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
29-010 WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Matthew Cornelius, Senior Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Amanda H. Neely, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs and General
Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 349
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-98
======================================================================
MAPS ACT OF 2021
_______
April 27, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1941]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred 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, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon within an amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 1941, the Metropolitan Areas Protection and
Standardization Act of 2021, or MAPS Act of 2021, requires the
Director of OMB to standardize the use of metropolitan area
designations across federal programs, and extends the amount of
days for public comment on any proposed change to such
designations. It also requires a report on the scientific basis
and estimated impact to federal programs for any proposed
change to such designations.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
In response to a recommendation by the Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee in
their 2019 report,\1\ OMB proposed raising the metropolitan
statistical area (MSA) population threshold from 50,000 to
100,000.\2\ This would be the first ever increase in the
minimum population standard for metropolitan areas. This
proposed change to the threshold could negatively impact
federal funding, services, and opportunities to counties across
the United States. Based on 2010 census data, 144 MSAs in the
United States and Puerto Rico (approximately 251 counties and
19 million people) could lose metropolitan status if this
change to the threshold occurred.\3\
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\1\Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee, Report and Recommendations for the Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee to the Office
of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the 2010 Standards for
Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (Aug. 1,
2019).
\2\Office of Management and Budget, Recommendations From the
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review
Committee to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to
the 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Areas, 86 Fed. Reg. 5263 (Jan. 19, 2021).
\3\Brookings Institution, The new `rural'? The implications of
OMB's proposal to redefine nonmetro America (Mar. 18, 2021)
(www.brookings.edu/research/the-new-rural-the-implications-of-ombs-
proposal-to-redefine-nonmetro-america/).
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On January 19, 2021, OMB issued a request for public
comment on the intended change.\4\ Representatives of local
governments across the country expressed concern over potential
loss of federal funding based on loss of metropolitan
status.\5\ A bipartisan group of senators stated in a letter to
OMB that any change to statistical policy that has such
potentially disruptive impacts throughout the country deserves
careful consideration.\6\ Ultimately, the Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee
submitted a revised recommendation to maintain the 50,000 MSA
population threshold.\7\
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\4\86 Fed. Reg. 5263, supra note 2.
\5\Small cities fret over feds redefining metro areas, The Hill
(Mar. 21, 2021) (thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/544083-small-cities-
fret-over-feds-redefining-metro-areas); see also Bye, Bismarck: 144
cities could lose status as metro areas, Associated Press (Mar. 6,
2021) (apnews.com/article/wisconsin-bismarck-census-2020-north-dakota-
sheboygan-ad77e15f0f8cd13b8e398d2ca8339ca7).
\6\Letter from Senators Klobuchar, Schumer, Cramer, Hoeven, Smith,
Murray, Baldwin, King, Van Hollen, Merkley, Warren, Brown, Casey,
Durbin, Kaine, Cardin, Wyden, Warner, Warnock, Stabenow, Ossoff, and
Manchin to Deputy Administrator Dominic Mancini (Mar. 19, 2021).
\7\The White House, Office of Management and Budget Announces 2020
Standards for Delineating Core Based Statistical Areas (July 13, 2021)
(www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/13/office-of-management-
and-budget-announces-2020-standards-for-delineating-core-based-
statistical-areas/).
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OMB reviews these standards in years preceding their
application to new decennial census data.\8\ However, federal
programs rely on these standards when allocating funds in the
years between each census. There is no catalog of how federal
programs rely on metropolitan area standards in the years
between each census, and thorough analysis by program staff at
every department or agency would be needed to estimate changes
in funding as a result of the proposed threshold change.\9\
Therefore, the full impact of OMB's initial proposal is
unknown. The Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization
Act requires the federal government to provide the needed
analysis and transparency before any change to metropolitan
area standards can be implemented.
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\8\Congressional Research Service, Metropolitan Area Designations
by OMB: History, 2010 Standards, and Uses (R42005) (Updated June 6,
2014).
\9\Id. at 7.
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III. Legislative History
Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 1941, the
Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization (MAPS) Act of
2021, on May 27, 2021, with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). The
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) joined as a
cosponsor on July 12, 2021.
The Committee considered S. 1941 at a business meeting on
November 3, 2021. During the business meeting, a substitute
amendment and an amendment to change the title of the bill were
offered by Chairman Peters and adopted by voice vote en bloc.
The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably en bloc by
voice vote. Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla,
Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott and Hawley
were present.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization Act of
2021'' or the ``MAPS Act of 2021''.
Section 2. Findings
This section establishes findings that inform the policy
solutions in this bill, especially concerning potential
disruption to service delivery based on updates to statistical
standards, as well as the need for independence in statistical
policymaking.
Section 3. Purpose
This section explains the two purposes of the bill: (1) to
provide transparency in how core-based statistical area
delineations are used in domestic assistance programs; and (2)
to ensure independence of the Office of Management and Budget
in establishing and updating core-based statistical area
delineations.
Section 4. Definitions
This section defines common terms used throughout this
bill.
Section 5. Non-propagation of core-based statistical area delineations
This section adds a new section 6309 to chapter 63 of title
31, United States Code, requiring that any updates to core-
based statistical area delineations pursuant to section 3504(e)
of title 44 shall not propagate automatically for any non-
statistical use by any domestic assistance program. These
programs may use any current delineation, or may adopt an
updated delineation through notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Section 6. Transparency of non-statistical uses of core-based
statistical area delineations
This section amends section 6102(a)(2) of title 31, United
States Code, to require the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget to standardize and collect information on
the uses of core-based statistical area delineations in federal
domestic assistance programs. This section specifies that the
information standardized and collected is to be made accessible
as an open government data asset, presented in a user-friendly
format, made publicly available on relevant government
websites, and updated at least once every year.
Section 7. Independence, Integrity, and Accountability of core-based
statistical area delineations
This section amends section 3504(e) of title 44, United
States Code, to require that any updates to core-based
statistical area delineations be accompanied by a public report
explaining the scientific basis for the update and the opinions
of experts who were consulted for the update. Moreover, this
section specifies that any such update shall not be influenced
by any non-statistical consideration and shall not propagate
automatically for any non-statistical use by any domestic
assistance program.
Section 8. Comptroller General report
Section 8 requires the Comptroller General to submit a
report to Congress not later than three years after the
enactment of the MAPS Act to report on the data quality of the
information reported pursuant to section 6. The Comptroller
General must identify any programs that are not yet reporting
the required information under section 6, and make
recommendations based on findings in the report.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 19, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1941, the MAPS Act
of 2021.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 1941 would require the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to describe how core-based statistical area (CBSA)
delineations--geographic specifications established for the
country's largest population centers--are used to determine
eligibility for and distribution of federal services and
benefits. Under current law, OMB establishes standards for
determining CBSA delineations, which are to be used solely for
descriptive and statistical purposes. The bill would require
OMB to report on the scientific basis for changing any CBSA
delineation.
Federal agencies use CBSAs for nonstatistical purposes,
such as determining allocations for federal funding. S. 1941
would prohibit agencies from automatically adopting any changes
to CBSA delineations for nonstatistical purposes unless those
changes were adopted through a public rulemaking process.
Finally, the bill would require the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to report on the accuracy and usefulness of
published CBSA information.
Using information from OMB, CBO expects that most of the
provisions in S. 1941 would build on current federal policies
and practices. However, CBO also expects that OMB and GAO would
incur costs to gather information on federal agencies' use of
CBSA delineations. Based on the costs of similar activities,
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1941 would cost $2 million
over the 2022-2026 period; such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds.
Prohibiting federal agencies from automatically accepting
changes to CBSA delineations for nonstatistical purposes could
affect agency behavior; however, there is no comprehensive
information on the use of those delineations in federal
programs. Thus, CBO cannot determine whether that procedural
change would result in any future costs or savings.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE
* * * * * * *
Subtitle V--General Assistance Administration
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 61--PROGRAM INFORMATION
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6102. PROGRAM INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
* * * * * * *
(F) uses, and restrictions on the use, of
assistance; [and]
(G) uses of core-based statistical area
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
[(G)] (H) duties of recipients under the
program.
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 63--USING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS AND GRANT AND COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS
Sec.
6301. Purposes.
6302. Definitions.
6303. Using procurement contracts.
6304. Using grant agreements.
6305. Using cooperative agreements.
6306. Authority to vest title in tangible personal property for
research.
6307. Interpretative guidelines and exemptions.
6308. Use of multiple relationships for different parts of jointly
financed projects.
6309. Non-propagation of core-based statistical area delineations.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6309. NON-PROPAGATION OF CORE-BASED STATISTICAL AREA DELINEATIONS.
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.
* * * * * * *
TITLE 44--PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 35--COORDINATION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY
* * * * * * *
Subchapter I--Federal Information Policy
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3504. AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS OF DIRECTOR
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(9) provide opportunities for training in statistical
policy functions to employees of the Federal Government
under which--
(A) each trainee shall be selected at the
discretion of the Director based on agency
requests and shall serve under the chief
statistician for at least 6 months and not more
than 1 year; and
(B) all costs of the training shall be paid
by the agency requesting training[.] and
(10) ensure that any change to the standards of core-
based statistical area 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.
[all]