White House Touts Push To Connect Americans With Rental Assistance Before Eviction Moratorium Ends
Other Democrats want to see moratorium extended instead
The White House is trumpeting what it calls an “all-out push” to connect Americans in need with available rental assistance resources in the waning days before the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium on August 1.
Other Democrats would rather see the Biden administration further extend the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) moratorium, however.
“The combined commitments announced today – part of an ongoing all-out push to make sure tenants and landlords take advantage of federal rental assistance to help cover rent, utilities, and other housing costs and keep people in their homes – could reach tens of millions of Americans,” the White House said in a fact sheet on the initiative.
“The continued call to action coincides with the launch of a new rental assistance finder produced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Americans who may be behind on rent can go to ConsumerFinance.gov/RentHelp and input information on their location to find local rental assistance programs in their area and apply for assistance,” the fact sheet added.
The White House touted its $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which was approved into law earlier this year to provide economic aid during the COVID pandemic, for making available “billions of dollars in federal rental assistance” to renters behind on housing costs, as well as landlords who have struggled during the pandemic.
“The Administration is building on a whole-of-government effort and engaging a wide variety of stakeholders to spread awareness of the CFPB’s new tool, as well as the resources available to assist tenants and landlords,” the fact sheet said.
For more general information about the Emergency Rental Assistance program, visit the unified federal housing assistance portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Other Democrats, such as the outspoken House progressive, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, instead have called on the moratorium to be extended.
“It is reckless not to extend the deadline when rental assistance funds [have] not gone out fast enough to protect people. Eviction filings have already spiked in anticipation of the deadline being lifted,” she is quoted as saying in a Tweet from Washington Post economics reporter Jeff Stein.
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