The 2014 fiscal year House Appropriations Committee measure that outlines budgets for the Dept. of Housing and Urban development (HUD) contains a provision that HUD must choose a permanent administrator of the Office of Manufactured Housing within 120 days of the legislation’s enactment. Introduced by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), if HUD fails to meet this deadline, the agency will lose $50,000 in salaries and expense budgeting for each day the requirement is not met, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) newsletter. The report accompanying the bill states that “the Committee understands that a substantial backlog of recommendations approved by the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee exists, and a lack of action and attention in this area has meant that codes and standards have not kept pace with technological innovation or allowed the industry to keep pace with consumer demand. The Committee looks forward to a more focused and responsive office under permanent leadership.” Knowing of the committee’s activity, a week prior HUD issued a notice announcing its search for someone to fill the administrator post, reversing a long-standing policy to leave the post vacant. As MHProNews knows, this marks an important milestone for the industry.
