Senate Votes 55-44 to Approve, Mostly Along Party Lines, With One No-Vote
On the heels of the Senate Banking Committee’s approval of Scott Turner with a 13-11 vote to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Senate with limited debate confirmed Turner 55-44-1.
Each the committee and Senate vote went along party lines, with a small number of committee members initially voting against the nomination because the nominee’s FBI background check had yet to come in. In the time between the committee and Senate vote, members were given the opportunity to review the background check.
All 55 Republicans in the chamber voted for Turner, joined by two Democrats. One Democrat withheld.
In the committee hearing, Turner was asked for his thoughts about manufactured housing.
The Manufactured Housing Institute, the national advocacy group for the industry, worked with senators on the committee, as well as with Turner, to ensure that manufactured housing was raised as a topic during the hearing. As a result, Turner’s opening remarks and written statement included references to manufactured housing and the senators asked about the industry.
“As a country, we’re not building enough housing,” Turner stated. “We need millions more homes of all kinds, single family, apartments, condos, duplexes, manufactured housing — you name it — so individuals and families can have a roof over their heads and a place to call home.”
During the committee hearing, Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) talked about updating the definition of a manufactured home in federal law to remove the requirement that all manufactured homes must be built with a permanent chassis. The chairman called this update to the law “incredibly important” and, in response, Turner committed to looking at how HUD can reduce regulatory burden and make it less cumbersome to build manufactured homes.
Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) cited the HUD rulemaking finalized last year that would impose “extreme climate standards” on HUD-financed properties as driving up costs. Turner said that he will review any regulation that proves burdensome to the development of affordable housing.
In response to a written question for the record from Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) about manufactured housing, Turner said he will commit to reviewing the process for updating the HUD Code to ensure that it is efficient and transparent. He emphasized the importance of a streamlined HUD Code to maximize the availability of manufactured housing as a source of attainable housing across the country.
“If confirmed, I will prioritize the availability and affordability of manufactured housing, including eliminating costly delays and undue regulatory burdens,” Turner had said. “I will also commit to meeting with the builders who run factories across the country that produce this important source of affordable housing.”
MHI joined 22 housing organizations to express strong support for Turner to serve as HUD Secretary. Turner served in the first Trump administration as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, and has a background in housing and community development.
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