Washington, D.C., November 18, 2014 – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro said in an interview on November 17, 2014 that reform of the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), as part of an overhaul of the nation’s housing finance system, remains a “top priority” for the Obama Administration during its final two years.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Castro noted bi-partisan support for legislation (S. 1217) introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) that would reform the national housing finance market and eventually eliminate mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stating: “This could be, I believe, a good victory either in the lame-duck session or, more realistically, perhaps in the next term of Congress where there is bipartisan support for housing finance reform, for doing away with Fannie and Freddie as we’ve known them, creating a backstop.”
The Administration’s designation of housing finance reform as a top priority over its final two years, and its support for the bi-partisan approach adopted by the Johnson-Crapo Bill, are good news for the manufactured housing industry, insofar as S. 1217 incorporates specific model manufactured housing (and chattel financing) equal access and non-discrimination language (copy attached) developed and advanced by MHARR, that was ultimately included in the bi-partisan bill on March 16, 2014 and approved by the Senate Banking Committee on May 15, 2014. Furthermore, regardless of what happens to S. 1217, the MHARR model equal access and non-discrimination language provides a basic template that the industry can and must include in any housing or housing finance legislation introduced in Congress going forward.
While word in Washington, D.C. is that the new House of Representatives may press the Obama Administration for significant reforms of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the more likely focus of a successful effort — short-term — between the Administration and Congress, as indicated by the Secretary’s comments and as anticipated by MHARR, lies with the broader issue of GSE reform. MHARR was ahead of the curve in developing and securing the inclusion of its equal access and anti-discrimination language in S. 1217 and will continue to advance equal treatment for all manufactured home loans – and all manufactured home consumers – in any final GSE reform bill that emerges from Congress.
