In a news release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) while the Biden-Harris (D) regime was still in control of the agency is the announcement of new and renewed appointments to the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC). Per HUD: “The appointments maintain the statutory composition of 21 members on the Committee with balanced interest representation…” However, as Part II of this report with analysis will reflect, HUD’s claim of “balanced interest representation” is disputable. HUD has at least members of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) among those appointees and only one from the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR).
There are apparent concerns about conflicts of interest that will be explored as part of the news analysis in Part II. Indeed, perhaps three of the newly appointed/reappointed representatives may exhibit apparent conflicts of interest, per evidence from the HUD website and independent checks by artificial intelligence (AI), all shown in Part II below.
Part I
HUD Announces New Appointments to Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appointed seven new and returning members to serve on the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a Federal Advisory Committee supporting HUD on manufactured housing construction and safety standards, procedural and enforcement regulations, and installation standards pertaining to manufactured housing. The appointments maintain the statutory composition of 21 members on the Committee with balanced interest representation, to ensure the committee can continue to play its critical role in advising HUD’s Office of Manufactured Housing Programs.
The following new and reappointed MHCC members are being announced today:
- Grant Beck, Next Step Network, KY (User Interest Group)
- Jayer Daily, American Homestar Corporation, TX (Producer/Retailer Interest Group) – reappointment
- Robert Gann, Franklin Homes, AL (Producer Interest Group)
- Jim Hightower, State of Tennessee, HUD State Administrative Agency, TN (Public Official and General Interest Group)
- Shelonda Marie-Alves, City of Plymouth, MN (Public Official and General Interest Group)
- Leo Poggione, Lusso Holdings & Consulting LLC, AZ (Producer/Retailer Interest Group) – reappointment
- Evon Smith, One West, KY (User Interest Group)
The membership terms for the appointments and reappointments shall expire on December 31, 2027.
About HUD’s Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee
The Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) is a statutory Federal Advisory Committee body charged with providing recommendations to the Secretary on the revision and interpretation of HUD’s manufactured home construction and safety standards and related procedural and enforcement regulations. By regulation, HUD has included the MHCC in the process of revising the Manufactured Home Model Installation Standards, Installation Program Regulations, and Dispute Resolution Program regulations.
—
Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
In no particular order of importance are the following observations.
1) Grant Beck is shown as representing the “Next Step Network, KY” which is listed as a “User Interest Group.” However, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) membership document linked here, Next Step is an MHI member which reportedly has received extensive support from Berkshire Hathaway owned Clayton Homes, which is an MHI member too.
2) Furthermore, Next Step and MHI have done joint projects.
3) So, how is it that HUD has selected Next Step to represent a “User Interest Group” when they have clear ties to Clayton and MHI?
4) Additionally, per sources deemed reliable, it is said that MHARR had at least two others who applied to represent the interests of independents in the manufactured housing industry, beyond Robert Gann, who is a senior official with Franklin Homes, a MHARR member.
5) According to left-leaning Google’s AI powered Gemini is the following response to this Q&A (chat) with MHProNews. Note that Google cited HUD in several of these responses.
What are HUD requirements for MHCC membership?
-
Be nominated
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appoints members to the MHCC. You can nominate yourself.
-
Have relevant experience
HUD encourages nominations from people with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experience.
-
Provide a resume
HUD recommends that your application include a resume.
-
Disclose conflicts of interest
You must disclose any conflicts of interest and certify your eligibility for membership.
-
Agree to responsibilities
You must agree to the responsibilities of the MHCC Charter, By-laws, and other applicable requirements.
The MHCC is an advisory committee that advises HUD on building standards. The committee has seven members in each of the following categories:
- Producers: Retailers or producers of manufactured housing
- Users: Representatives of consumer interests
- General Interest and Public Officials: Three of the seven representatives must be public officials
6) The same question was posed to left-leaning Bing’s AI powered Copilot. A similar response was provided, also citing HUD as the source for the answers given.
What are HUD requirements for MHCC membership?
The Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) is a federal advisory committee established by the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000. Here are the key requirements for membership:
- Membership Categories: The MHCC consists of three categories of voting members:
- Producers: Seven members who are producers or retailers of manufactured housing.
- Users: Seven members representing consumer interests, such as consumer organizations, recognized consumer leaders, and owners who are residents of manufactured homes.
- General Interest and Public Officials: Seven members who represent general interest and public officials, with three of them being representatives of the public official category.
- Qualifications: Applicants must have relevant qualifications and experience in their respective categories. They should be familiar with the ANSI standards development system and the responsibilities and obligations of committee members.
- Financial Disclosure: Applicants for User or General Interest/Public Official positions must disclose any financial interests in the manufactured housing industry. Those with significant financial interests cannot be considered for user positions.
- Term and Rotation: Members serve at the pleasure of the Secretary or for a term of three years, not to exceed two consecutive terms. There is a rotation of seven members per annum, where possible.
- Conflict of Interest: Members must adhere to conflict of interest requirements and cannot receive compensation from the manufactured housing industry during their membership and for one year following their term.
- Active Participation: Members are expected to actively participate in the committee’s work. Habitual default on these obligations may lead to termination of membership.
Would you like more details on any specific aspect of the MHCC membership requirements?
7) With the above in mind, consider this next Q&A (chat) with Copilot. A typo is corrected below.
Yes. It is my understanding that HUD recently announced the appointment of “Grant Beck, Next Step Network, KY (User Interest Group),” correct? But isn’t the Next Step Network a Manufactured Housing Institute member? https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Manufactured-Housing-Institute-Policy-Priorities-1-PartOfJune15.2022MHIemailToMembersMHProNewsFactCheck.pdf And hasn’t prominent MHI member Clayton Homes and Next Step both acknowledged joint projects and the fact that Next Step Network has been financially supported by Clayton Homes? And hasn’t MHI and Next Step also announced joint projects? So, in what sense is Next Step not in a conflict of interest with the User Interest Group and the (Producer/Retailer Interest Group)? In fact, isn’t a wing of Next Step selling manufactured homes? Aren’t those apparent conflicts of interest?
Given these connections, it’s understandable to see why there might be concerns about potential conflicts of interest. The involvement of Next Step Network in both advocacy and business activities, including selling manufactured homes, could raise questions about impartiality, especially in their role within HUD’s User Interest Group.
It’s important for organizations like HUD to ensure transparency and manage any potential conflicts of interest to maintain trust and integrity in their initiatives. Do you think there should be more stringent measures to address these conflicts?
8) Last but not least for now is this Q&A with Copilot.
Additionally, hasn’t the Manufactured Housing Institute claimed a “partnership” with HUD on its own website for several months? Further, didn’t MHI claim in a letter to HUD that HUD is MHI’s client? https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GochStarkeyLettertoHUDforManufacturedHousingInstituteMHProNews.pdf So, isn’t there an argument to be made that the Institute and HUD have a conflict of interest, and that the Manufactured Housing Institute should not have representation from the Producer Retailer interest group categories, given that apparent conflict of interest?
You’re correct. The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has indeed claimed a “partnership” with HUD on its website for several months. Additionally, in a letter to HUD, MHI referred to HUD as its client. This relationship does raise potential conflict of interest concerns, especially considering MHI’s representation in the Producer/Retailer Interest Group categories.
Given these connections, it’s reasonable to argue that MHI’s dual role as both a partner and client of HUD could compromise its impartiality. This situation might suggest that MHI should not have representation in the Producer/Retailer Interest Group categories to avoid conflicts of interest.
Would you like to explore more about how these conflicts of interest could impact HUD’s decision-making processes? …”
Again, our thanks to free email subscribers and all readers like you, as well as our tipsters/sources, sponsors and God for making and keeping us the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.’
