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Today, Congressman Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) issued the following statement regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) decision to maintain the existing standards for delineating core based statistical areas. Carl joined a bipartisan group of colleagues on a March 16, 2021, letter to the Acting Director of the OMB urging them to reject a proposal to change the definition of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) from a minimum population of 50,000 persons to a minimum population of 100,000 persons.

I’m proud to have joined this bipartisan effort to protect areas like Baldwin County and ensure they are able to continue receiving important federal grant money, especially as our local communities work to rebuild economic engines that have been damaged by the COVID crisis.

 The OMB’s decision to maintain existing standards for determining metropolitan statistical areas is great news for Baldwin County. If enacted, a proposed rule change would have stripped Baldwin County of its designation as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, which would have resulted in a potential loss of millions of dollars in federal grants.

The OMB announced on July 13, 2021, the MSA threshold will remain at 50,000, which means Baldwin County will maintain its designation as an MSA. If the proposal had been enacted, Baldwin County would have lost its designation as an MSA, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars in federal grant money.

Congressman Carl’s office can be reached at 202-225-4931.