Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/696291
JULY 2016 10 THE JOURNAL No. 8 on Get It Quick Page Recently, the House Appropriations Com- mittee passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) to strengthen ac- cess to safe, affordable, and available financing for manufactured housing, while preserving im- portant federal consumer protections. Modeled after H.R. 650, the Preserving Access to Man- ufactured Housing Act, the amendment was passed by a bipartisan vote of 31-17. "Preserving access to affordable housing for millions of hard-working American families is extremely important, and I'm proud that my colleagues agreed with me by voting 'yes' on my amendment," said Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. In speaking in support of the amendment, Rep. Crenshaw (R-FL), the Chairman for the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Subcommit- tee and author of the underlying bill, empha- sized the amendment's importance and said it "will make sure there will be affordable housing for millions of Americans." The current regulations are ill-suited to the needs of working Americans seeking affordable housing. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows that consumers have been shut out of the market for quality, affordable housing because regulations have caused financing to be less available for manufactured homes. Many lenders have stopped or significantly curtailed their lending for manufactured housing as a re- sult of these regulations. These rules harm both those seeking to purchase manufactured housing and those currently residing in manu- factured homes. As affordable housing for working American families becomes more scarce, it is more important than ever that Congress act to reverse the decline in lending for this critical source of homeownership. MHI has been working with Congress to pass the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act (S. 682/H.R. 650), either as free- standing legislation or as a part of a larger legislative package, during the 114th Congress. Passage of Rep. Fleischmann's amendment by the House Appropriations Committee is a criti- cal step in reversing the decline in lending to this source of af- fordable housing. In preparation for today's markup, MHI's government affairs team has been working tirelessly with Appropriations Com- mittee members, Committee leader- ship, and H.R. 650 cosponsors - resulting in over 1,500 con- tacts to the Hill since February - to ensure pas- sage of this amendment in this appropriations bill. Today's successful vote is the result of these efforts, and inclusion of this language in the appropriations bill will help position the lan- guage for passage before Congress adjourns. "Rep. Fleischmann's amendment makes reasonable modifications to the federal regula- tions that currently restrict access to manufac- tured housing financing. This is an important milestone for millions of working families and retirees who are currently being shut out of the market for quality, unsubsidized affordable housing" said Lesli Gooch, MHI's Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Chief Lobbyist. "MHI is working to ensure the legislation passes this year and today's action is an impor- tant step in this effort," she continued. "Please join us in thanking Congressman Fleis- chmann (R-TN), Appropriations Committee Chairman Rogers (R-KY), Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Crenshaw (R-FL), and all of the members of the Appropriations Committee who voted for this amendment for supporting changes to federal regulations that have jeopardized access to financing for manu- factured homes." H.R. 650, the Preserving Access to Manu- factured Housing Act, is bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Fincher (R-TN), Sewell (D-AL), Barr (R-KY), and Sinema (D- AZ). The bill was passed by the House of Rep- resentatives on April 14, 2015 by a vote of 263-162. The companion Senate bill, S. 682, is sponsored by Senators Donnelly (D-IN), Toomey (R-PA), Manchin (D-WV), and Cotton (R-AR). The bill was included in S. 1484, the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, which is sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Shelby (R-AL) and was passed by the Banking Committee on June 2, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact MHI's Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Chief Lobbyist, Dr. Lesli Gooch, at (703) 558-0660 or lgooch@mfghome.org. Tri-State Distributors, Inc. We are a full line distributor for after market products. We are proud to offer Intertherm products, including Gas Furnaces, Heat Pumps, Air Conditioning, and More. Serving The Manufactured Housing Industry www.tri-statedistributors.com Whatever Your Heating/Cooling Needs... We Have You Covered! GREENVILLE, SC 1-800-303-4185 ROYSTON, GA 1-800-476-6164 AUGUSTA, GA 1-866-736-4560 GAINESVILLE, GA 1-800-866-1232 OCALA, FL 1-800-476-0172 COLLINS, MS 1-866-391-5535 House Appropriations Committee Votes to Preserve Access to Manufactured Housing Financing www.journalmfdhouisng.com