The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) informs MHProNews that congressional leaders have announced a $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations spending bill to keep the government funded through fiscal 2016, but none of the Dodd-Frank Act reforms were included.

Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN), the sponsor of the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act in the House, which passed in April, said, “While I am disappointed my bill to improve access to manufactured housing was not included in the omnibus, I will continue to do everything possible to move this bill forward. Congress should constantly fight to give families opportunities – not take them away. My bill is for the millions of Americans who rely on manufactured housing but have been seriously harmed by crushing federal regulations.”

Although reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act were not included in the appropriations measure, MHI reminds us of the groundwork laid and the support gained in the first session of the 114^th Congress: the stand-alone H. R. 650 passed the House with bipartisan support; Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) included the Senate companion bill, S 682, into the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act (S 1484) that the committee passed in May; and the language was part of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July. Also, the language was included by House and Senate negotiators on the list of provisions attached to the omnibus appropriations measure if Dodd-Frank Act reforms were to be included.

The progress made by the manufactured home industry in trying to correct the ills that emanated from the Dodd-Frank Act is in no small way attributable to the bipartisan support received from Senators Donnelly (D-IN), Toomey (R-PA), Cotton (R-AR), and Manchin (E-WV), and Representatives Fincher (R-TN), Sewell (D-AL), Barr (R-KY) and Sinema (D-AZ).

Noting MHI members should congratulate themselves on the progress that has been made, MHI Chairman Tim Williams said, “We have just completed the first year of a two-year Congress. In spite of the headwinds from DC-based consumer groups, we have a bipartisan bill and strong support from key leaders in Congress. MHI will continue its strong advocacy efforts into next year and coordinate with its members to effectively press for adoption of these pro-consumer provisions.” ##

(Photo credit: mbaa.org-U. S. Capitol)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.