Arlington, Va., December 7, 2000 - The long-sought reform of the federal manufactured housing program was realized today when the 106th Congress approved the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act in one of its final actions before adjourning. The Congress, in a special "lame-duck" session to resolve remaining appropriations bills, approved the reform legislation as part of a larger housing bill (The American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000). The bill now goes to President Clinton who is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days.

"This is a great victory for modernizing the manufactured housing industry. It will result in more responsive construction and safety standards that will directly benefit the consumers of manufactured housing," stated Gary McDaniel, chairman of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). "The passage of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act is an important milestone in our efforts to modernize and update the federal regulatory program governing our industry. Now we must turn our focus and efforts to successfully implementing the provisions and requirements of this legislation," stated Edward J. Hussey, chairman of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR). MHI and MHARR are the two trade associations representing the manufactured housing industry, with both supporting the legislation.

"Special thanks go to all the industry members who contacted their Representatives and Senators and urged them to support this important legislation," stated MHI President Chris Stinebert. "Their active involvement and participation was critical to maintaining bipartisan support for the legislation and ensuring that Congress would act on this reform package."

"The Coalition To Improve The Manufactured Housing Act wants to thank Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.), chief sponsors of the legislation, for their hard work and devoted commitment to building support and steering this bill through the legislative process," MHARR President Danny Ghorbani said. "We also want to express our sincere appreciation to Sens. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), John Edwards (D-N.C.), and the 29 other Senate co-sponsors, as well as Reps. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), David Price (D-N.C.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) and Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and the 159 other House co-sponsors for their dedication to seeing that this legislation was addressed by the Congress. And a special thanks goes to Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), as well as House Ranking Members John LaFalce (D-N.Y.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) for their cooperation and hard work in moving this legislation forward."

The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act directly benefits homebuyers and the industry by ensuring that the Federal Manufactured Construction and Safety Standards (known as the HUD Code) are updated on a timely basis. The legislation establishes a private-sector consensus committee to make recommendations to the HUD Secretary for updating standards and enforcement regulations. It also clarifies the scope of federal preemption and provides HUD with additional staff and resources, including the creation of an Assistant HUD Secretary, to oversee the regulatory program. The legislation directs each state to institute an installation program within five years that satisfies certain minimum requirements, including installation standards, the training and licensing of home installers, and some level of inspection of home installations. Furthermore, it includes a provision requiring states to establish, within five years, a dispute resolution program to resolve consumer complaints during the first year after a home is installed.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (417-8) to approve the legislation on April 6, 2000, as part of a larger omnibus housing bill with many other housing provisions. The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the legislation as a stand-alone bill on May 4, 2000. However, due to the minor differences in the House and Senate bills, final approval of the legislation was delayed while the two chambers debated the provisions contained in the larger housing bill that significantly delayed the final passage of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act.