Syndicated columnist George Will – as published in the Chicago Tribune – outlined a 6 point agenda recommended to Republicans who will control both the House and the U.S. Senate in 2015 as a result of the midterm elections.

First up, says Will? One that would be popular with many manufactured housing (MH) professionals. Abolish the CFPB.

While ending the pain of Dodd-Frank would be welcomed by many in MH and other sectors such as banking, housing and finance; odds-makers put tweaks on Dodd-Frank much more likely than an outright repeal surviving President Obama’s veto pen. Unlike the ACA/ObamaCare, which has been under water with the public in polling since passage, the CFPB has wider public support. So what’s considered more likely by other pundits with moderate Democrats support would be to rein in some of the CFPB’s authority; making it more subject to Congressional oversight, have it paid for by the budget process rather than the Federal Reserve, etc..

Will’s whit and historical insight shed light on his thinking, quoting him on the CFPB, the “...creature of the labyrinthine Dodd-Frank law violates John Locke’s dictum: “The legislative cannot transfer the power of making laws to any other hands. … The power of the legislative … is only to make laws, and not to make legislators.”

So since the…”The bureau is empowered to “declare,” with no legislative guidance or institutional inhibitions, that certain business practices are “abusive.” It also embodies progressivism’s authoritarianism by being, unlike any entity Congress has created since 1789, untethered from all oversight mechanisms: Its funding, “determined by the director,” comes from the Federal Reserve.”

Beyond the CFPB…

5 other changes are proposed, some of which has hope of getting a sign-off by the president and which would have appeal to many in MH, include:

Repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (ObamaCare/ACA connected), which Will argues is wildly unconstitutional anyway.

Repeal the health care law’s tax on medical devices, which is one that looks to have bi-partisan support according, to others sources.

Improve energy, economic and environmental conditions by authorizing construction of the

Keystone XL pipeline, this too some observers say might get POTUS Obama’s sign off, and is a job creator that would likely benefit manufactured and modular home builders. The next, quoted in its entirety:

“Mandate completion of the nuclear waste repository in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. The signature achievement of Harry Reid’s waning career has been blocking this project, on which approximately $15 billion has been spent. So, rather than nuclear waste being safely stored in the mountain’s 40 miles of tunnels 1,000 feet underground atop 1,000 feet of rock, more than 160 million Americans live within 75 miles of one or more of the 121 locations where 70,000 tons of waste are stored.”

Quoting Will on another proposal that has some moderate Democratic support:

“Pass the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. It would require that any regulation with at least a $100 million annual impact on the economy — there are approximately 200 of them in the pipeline — must be approved without amendments by joint resolution of Congress and signed by the president. “In effect,” writes the Hudson Institute’s Christopher DeMuth, “major agency rules would become legislative proposals with fast-track privileges.”

This final one, like some others, could find signficant support from manufactured housing professionals. ##

(R-KY Senator Mitch McConnell photo credit: Getty Images/Chicago Tribune)