Terri Sewell: “I thank Ranking Member Waters. Today, I stand in support of H.R. 650, the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act.…”

“I thank Ranking Member Waters. Today, I stand in support of H.R. 650, the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act. Manufactured housing serves as an affordable and sustainable housing option for roughly 22 million Americans. In my State of Alabama, more than 300,000 families reside in manufactured housing, which comprises in excess of 14 percent of the State's housing market. In districts like mine, where we face tremendous economic disparities and suppressed rental markets, manufactured housing must remain an option. Oftentimes, it is the only safe and affordable mortgage option available to families. Without this bill, working families and retirees with poor credit or limited income can't obtain credit at all and are forced into more expensive housing options; and, in some parts of my district, the more rural parts of my district, the only option for many is manufactured housing. H.R. 650 makes a simple but necessary adjustment to these thresholds to enable lenders to fully meet the demand for affordable, responsible loans for manufactured homes. In many ways, Mr. Speaker, this bill is an acknowledgement that manufactured housing is different from regular dwelling housing. It is, in fact, not real property, but personal property, more like a car than it is like a home.…”