Following Van Hollen-Led Push, Administration Reverses Course on Proposed Rule that Threatened to Reduce Federal Funds for Maryland Communities

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) applauded the decision by the Biden Administration Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to abandon the Trump Administration’s proposed plan to change the current definition of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Under the Trump Administration, OMB had proposed doubling the minimum requirement for a MSA from 50,000 to 100,000. This recommendation would eliminate MSA status for more than 140 communities across the country – including Salisbury, Cumberland, and California-Lexington Park in Maryland – and could negatively impact federal funding in these communities. This reversal comes following a bipartisan push led by Senator Van Hollen and Senator John Boozman (R-Ark.). Senator Van Hollen is Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG),which has jurisdiction over OMB’s budget.

“Providing our communities with their fair share of federal resources is one of my top priorities. This Trump-era push could’ve severely diminished the federal funds Maryland cities and towns receive. That’s why I helped lead an effort to push back on this harmful proposal. I’m glad to see the Biden Administration heed our calls to reverse course, and I will continue fighting to provide Maryland communities with vital federal funding and resources to invest in growing our state’s economy, creating jobs, modernizing our infrastructure, and more,” said Senator Van Hollen.