Lawmakers Unload On Congress Over Failing To Pass Evictions Moratorium
Rep Cori Bush spends night out in front of Capitol, in protest
The House of Representatives failed to pass a last-minute legislative extension of the national evictions moratorium as the original moratorium — put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the face of the COVID pandemic — expired, leaving Americans vulnerable for the first time in a year.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed an extension to the eviction moratorium further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments, extended through July 31. It was intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.
The moratorium was set in place to avoid evictions which could spread COVID-19. The Supreme Court recently ruled in a case challenging the moratorium, handing down a decision upholding it. Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled, however, he was in favor of upholding the CDC's moratorium because it was soon to expire anyway — casting a pall over further executive branch extensions.
House Democrats attempted to pass a new moratorium late Friday by unanimous consent. The attempt failed when House Republicans refused to agree.
The failure left recriminations — particularly among progressives.
As COVID-19 cases surge and 1 in 7 renters — including nearly a quarter of Black renters — remain behind on rental payments, evicting residents could exacerbate the public health crisis and hamper economic recovery, according to moratorium proponents.
Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) went to the Senate floor to register her displeasure.
She concedes that a moratorium isn't a long-term solution. However, there needs to be more of an opportunity for vulnerable renters and affected landlords to connect with the federal assistance being made available through the American Rescue Plan passed into law earlier this year, she added.
“We provided more than $45 billion in emergency rental assistance. That money is now getting into the hands of landlords around the country. It’s helping families who lost a job get caught up on missed payments,” Warren said. “But the money is getting out too slowly. Some states and local governments only opened their assistance programs last month. Some hadn’t spent a single dollar by the beginning of June.
“Now, that’s starting to change. In June, states delivered more than $1.5 billion in emergency rental assistance. That money went to help nearly 300,000 households. But there are still billions more dollars to distribute – and millions of families in need. We have the tools, and we have the funding. What we need is more time.”
A formerly homeless congresswoman
Warren acknowledged the efforts of Rep Cori Bush (D-Mo) in trying to push a moratorium through the House. Bush, herself, has experienced homelessness in her life.
Bush sent a letter to her Democratic colleagues urging them to remain in Washington ahead of a scheduled August recess. She pushed for an urgent vote to extend the federal eviction moratorium.
“I’m urging you to please hear me out on this issue because as a formerly unhoused Congresswoman, I have been evicted three times myself. I know what it’s like to be forced to live in my car with my two children,” Bush wrote. “Now that I am a member of Congress, I refuse to stand by while millions of people are vulnerable to experiencing that same trauma that I did.
“If Congress does not act now, the fallout of the eviction crisis will undoubtedly set us backwards as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravish our communities ─ needlessly contributing to more death and suffering. After the loss of nearly 600,000 Americans due to this pandemic, lawmakers need to be held to the highest levels of accountability to enact legislation that protects human life,” she added. “I know firsthand the trauma and devastation that comes with the violence of being evicted, and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent this trauma from being inflicted on our neighbors and communities.”
Reports show that out of more than 400 states, counties and cities that received funding for emergency rental assistance, just 36 have been able to spend half of the money allotted to them.
Bush — like Warren — is urging her colleagues to vote to extend the eviction moratorium to give state and local governments time to distribute the funds needed to keep people housed.
To emphasize her point, Bush slept outside of the Capitol Building in Washington DC as her colleagues were headed for the exits for the recess.
Others joined her overnight protest, including Rep Ilhan Omar (D-Minn).
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