MHProNews has received a communique from the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) noting a copy of a letter on the stationery of Rep. Spencer Bacchus (R-Ala.), Chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Committee. The letter is addressed to Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). It is signed by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, and Rep. Bacchus. The letter asks Mr. Dodaro to examine the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) regulation of the manufactured housing program, specifically the implementation of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (MHIA) of 2000 designed to establish standards for construction of MH, and how that has affected the overall MH industry. The MHIA also set the boundaries for federal preemption and allocated resources to deal with MH issues. The letter also asks the agency to examine the effect the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) has had on revisions to HUD’s guidance of the MH program and what authority the MHCC has in advising HUD. Noting the inspection fee HUD collects from manufacturers, the letter asks the GAO to examine how the fees are collected and administered, if it is being done according to law, and what effect the fees have on production.
