This is actually not entirely true. The USGS is on a similar schedule to the National Agricultural Imagery Program and releases new maps across almost the whole

This is actually not entirely true. The USGS is on a similar schedule to the National Agricultural Imagery Program and releases new maps across almost the whole country on a 3 or 4 year rotation. These are digital maps with imagery in the background and computer generated contour lines. The only limitation is going to be the date on the elevation data. They no longer look the same as old topo maps, but the serve the same function. If you look on store.usgs.gov you can find all of the current and old ones available for download for free. This has been available for several years now, and is not new. In fact most regions of the country are on their second revision of these newer maps. The USGS actually has no choice but to give away the maps as they are publicly funded and required to give the public access. It is the same reason that we are able to download high res imagery over the entire country (the NAIP) for free.