[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

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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                 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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Congressional Research Service, Metropolitan Area Designations 
by OMB: History, 2010 Standards, and Uses (R42005) (Updated June 6, 
2014).
    \9\Id. at 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        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.


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    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]