In the News

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security on Oct. 24 and 25 advanced two bills authored by U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN).

Rep. Bucshon introduced the Affordable Housing Over Mandated Efficiency Standards (HOMES) Act and the Advanced Reactor Fee Reduction Act. 

Currently, an existing regulatory framework centered at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addresses both construction and installation, as well as testing, compliance, and enforcement standards in a way that balances the goals of safety, efficiency, and cost to the millions of American households seeking access to the affordable housing option that manufactured homes represent, according to information provided by the subcommittee.

HUD is the correct agency to oversee efficiency regulation on manufactured homes, not the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the information says, noting that the Affordable HOMES Act would repeal Section 413 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to ensure that the DOE’s final rule on Energy Conservation Standards for Manufactured Housing would have no force or effect.

The bill is supported by the Manufactured Housing Institute.

The Advanced Reactor Fee Reduction Act would amend the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act to update the fees charged by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for advanced reactor applicants, with the goal being to remove some of the barriers to participation for this technology, according to the subcommittee’s information.

Both bills now head to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.