Tuberville on OMB's Decision to Keep Current MSA Threshold

Statement

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) released the following statement after the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced it will not raise the threshold for qualification of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) from 50,000 to 100,000. Increasing this threshold would have stripped over 140 midsized cities of their MSA status including Florence, Muscle Shoals, Decatur, Gadsden, Anniston, Oxford, Auburn, Opelika, Dothan, Daphne, Fairhope, and Foley.

"This is a victory for folks in Florence, Muscle Shoals, Decatur, Gadsden, Anniston, Oxford, Auburn, Opelika, Dothan, Daphne, Fairhope, and Foley. Keeping the designation at 50,000 ensures that critical funding streams will not be cut off for vital programs. Since OMB first announced the proposal to double the threshold, I have been speaking with Alabamians about the detrimental impact it would have on their communities, and I am glad that it never came to fruition."

Sen. Tuberville took action to ensure MSA reclassification did not occur. In March, he sent a letter to OMB Deputy Administrator Dominic Mancini expressing serious concern with the proposed increase. Sen. Tuberville also cosponsored the Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act, legislation introduced by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), to prevent the OMB from raising the population threshold required for MSA designation from the current level of 50,000 to 100,000.

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, and HELP Committees.

Source