On May 19, 2020 MHProNews reported that the public statements of support by the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) in favor of the appointment of Dana Wade had been picked up by several in the mainstream media.
Mainstream Media Spotlights MHARR Letters on HUD’s Dana Wade, FHFA’s Mark Calabria
The formal press release by HUD, featuring the statement by Secretary Ben Carson, is below. It will be followed by the emailed statement by the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), a statement from MHARR President and CEO Mark Weiss, and an MHProNews analysis and commentary in brief.
Wade’s housing expertise includes her previous role as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing
WASHINGTON –U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today applauded the confirmation of Dana Wade to serve as the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Commissioner. FHA currently insures more than 8 million single family mortgages, almost 12,000 mortgages for multifamily properties, over 3,700 mortgages for residential care facilities, and nearly 100 mortgages for hospitals.
“I want to congratulate Dana Wade on her confirmation by the United States Senate to serve as the Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration,” said Secretary Carson. “Dana has been a tremendous asset to the Department and the Administration throughout her years of service, and I have full confidence in her ability to successfully lead FHA.”
“I join Secretary Carson in congratulating Dana on her confirmation and welcoming her back to FHA, where I know she will do an outstanding job serving the American people. We are grateful to have her considerable talents and knowledge to help guide the agency as our nation pulls through this pandemic,” said Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery, who served as FHA Commissioner from 2005-2009; 2018-2020.
“I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity to hit the ground running during this critical time for our nation’s housing markets,” Commissioner Wade said.
Mrs. Wade previously served as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing from July 2017 to June 2018, where she oversaw over 2,400 employees and implemented enhanced risk management and monitoring of FHA’s $1.3 trillion portfolio. Wade also served as a Program Associate Director for General Government at the Office of Management and Budget from December 2018 to December 2019, where she led budget oversight for six Executive Branch agencies with a keen focus on financial services, including HUD, and multiple independent agencies.
In Congress, she served in senior roles including Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Appropriations under Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). Wade holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Georgetown University.
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Here is the MHI statement emailed to their members on 7.28.2020.
The U.S. Senate today confirmed Dana Wade as Assistant Secretary of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
MHI has been a vocal supporter of Wade’s confirmation since her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee in May. As in prior nomination hearings for HUD leaders, MHI provided our champions on the Committee with information about issues of importance to the manufactured housing industry, including the creation of a separate regulatory path for a more regular cadence of HUD Code updates and elevating the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs (OMHP) within HUD’s bureaucracy.
“FHA Commissioner Wade’s experience from important vantage points of federal housing policy gives her the perspective needed to successfully lead the Office of Housing and FHA at this critical time in our nation’s history, when strains are being placed on our federal housing support programs like never before,” said MHI CEO Lesli Gooch. “We have no doubt that Mrs. Wade’s effective and steady leadership will help ensure HUD is positioned well to meet the housing needs of Americans struggling from the fallout of the COVID-19 emergency.”
Wade held this title in an interim capacity at HUD from July 2017 to June 2018 before leaving to serve as Program Associate Director for General Government at the Office of Management and Budget where she oversaw HUD’s budget, among other duties.
During her time at HUD, Wade has been responsible for carrying out the Department’s mission of providing affordable housing opportunities and she has taken a leading role in the agency’s responsibilities regarding manufactured housing. MHI worked closely with Wade as she led HUD’s reorganization of the OMHP and its comprehensive review of manufactured housing regulations. Before joining the Trump Administration, Wade served as the Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Banking Committee under Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), a strong and vocal ally of manufactured housing.
MHI looks forward to working with Wade as she continues to advance affordable housing initiatives at HUD.
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The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) President and CEO, Mark Weiss emailed the following comment to MHProNews.
“MHARR has strongly supported Ms. Wade’s nomination and confirmation, as expressed early-on in a communication to the Senate. We encourage her to “hit the ground running” as she has promised and see to it that the HUD manufactured housing program adopts much-needed regulatory reforms before the November elections.” – Mark Weiss, J.D.
Note that it may be that MHARR will publish another, more detailed statement sometime next week.
A whistleblower provided a statement about MHI’s purported posturing of support for Dana Wade reported by MHProNews on May 14, 2020.
MHProNews provided a public statement of support for Wade on 5.7.2020.
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That stands in contrast with MHProNews calling for the removal of Trump Administration appointee, Brian Montgomery, with the case made in the report linked below why Montgomery should be removed for conflicts of interest.
MHProNews Analysis and Commentary in Brief
MHARR made a witty and wise observation in their “Illusions of Motion” analysis, which arguably fits the modus operandi of MHI in the Berkshire Hathaway era of the association.
Former MHI Vice President and founding president of MHARR, Danny Ghorbani, has made a series of facts and evidence-based statements on how the good that could flow from the Duty to Serve (DTS) manufactured housing has been thwarted. Given that DTS is the law, how could that occur without MHI’s tacit or active support? As a programming note, a continuation of our periodic Q&A with Ghorbani is planned for the near term.
MHProNews reminded readers in the report linked below that the Washington Post made it plain that Lesli Gooch and MHI didn’t lift a finger to have Pam Danner removed. For those new to the industry in the last 18 to 24 months, the report below is useful in grasping the broader issues that are limiting manufactured housing.
The COVID19 fueled economic crisis has demonstrated that there are a variety of ways that larger and more powerful corporate interests can derail independents in America in a variety of industries, not just manufactured housing. For instance, Pacific Business News reports that “Yelp: Sixty percent of U.S. restaurants that closed amid Covid-19 pandemic won’t reopen.” While the number impacted in manufactured housing hopefully won’t approach anything like that total, the impact on our profession is demonstrated in part by the second year of reduced year-over-year reduction in new manufactured home shipments.
MHI has postured supporting growth for years while de facto working contrary to the interests of the industry in several demonstrable ways.
See the related reports herein and below the byline and notices to learn more.
Time will tell if Ms. Wade will use her position in the waning days running up to the 2020 election to move the needle for manufactured housing. Hopefully, she will do so, as she reportedly did in the case Danner.
Either way, MHProNews will monitor and report as necessary. As to MHI and candor? They are one of several organizations that could be examined through the lens of the commentary linked below.
There is always more to come, so stay tuned with 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.
