Letter to Hon. Robert Fairweather, Acting Director Office of Management and Budget - Hoeven Urges Omb to Reject Proposed Changes to Metropolitan Statistical Area Minimum Population Definition

Letter

Dear Acting Director Fairweather:
I write to express my concern with the Recommendations from the Metropolitan and
Metropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee to the Office of Management and
Budget Concerning Changes to the 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and
Metropolitan Statistical Areas, which was recently noticed by the Office of Management and
Budget. Of specific concern is the recommendation to increase the minimum population to
qualify a metropolitan statistical area from 50,000 to 100,000. Adopting this recommendation
could negatively impact over 140 metropolitan areas, as well as many micropolitan areas on the
precipice of advancing to metropolitan area status upon release of the 2020 decennial census
data, including the cities of Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot, North Dakota.
The designation of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are of particular importance to my
communities, as they delineate the geographical areas in which the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) analyzes labor market conditions. These statistics help local government officials,
businesses, real estate developers, and social service agencies review information about per
capita income, spending patterns, unemployment rates, housing trends, and population
movement. Further, MSAs and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSA) are widely used as part of
numerous federal government program funding formulas, such as Federal Transportation
Planning Aid, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and the HOME Investment
Partnership Program, among others.
I urge you to reject the adoption of the proposed changes to increase the minimum population to
qualify an MSA, and ask that you provide me with the following information:
1. What is the justification for increasing the minimum population to qualify an MSA from
50,000 to 100,000?
2. When making this determination, did OMB take into account all public and private sector
nonstatistical uses that may be made of the MSA/micropolitan statistical area
delineations? If not, why?
3. Has OMB conducted outreach to the appropriate committees of Congress as well as
Senators and Members of Congress that represent the over 140 MSAs that would be
impacted by an increase of the minimum population to qualify a MSA from 50,000 to
100,000? If not, why?
4. Has OMB shared with Members of Congress the impacts of this policy on the
communities they represent? If not, why?
5. Has OMB notified and consulted with the over 140 MSAs that would be impacted by an
increase of the minimum population to qualify as an MSA? If not, why?
6. Please provide a comprehensive list of government funding formulas and determinations
that utilize MSA designations to establish applicant or beneficiary eligibility.
I look forward to your response, and to continuing to work with you to address the concerns of
the communities in North Dakota that I represent.

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