House Democratic leaders call on Biden to extend eviction ban
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic leaders called on the Biden administration to immediately extend the nation's ban on evictions, calling it a "moral imperative" to prevent Americans from being homeless amid another COVID-19 surge, even as the White House has suggested that congressional action is needed.
Congress was unable to pass legislation swiftly to extend the ban, which expired at midnight Saturday, and the Democratic leaders said in a statement that it was now up to President Joe Biden's administration to act. They called on the administration to extend the moratorium through Oct. 18.
"Action is needed, and it must come from the Administration. That is why House leadership is calling on the Administration to immediately extend the moratorium," Pelosi, D-Calif., Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark, D-Md., wrote in a joint statement published Sunday.
The lawmakers cited the highly contagious delta variant, which has fueled a recent uptick in virus cases and hospitalizations, as a reason to extend the eviction moratorium through mid-October.
"As the CDC doubles down on mask-wearing and vaccination efforts, science and reason demand that they must also extend the moratorium in light of the delta variant," the House leader wrote. "Doing so is a moral imperative to keep people from being put out on the street which also contributes to the public health emergency."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the ban in place as part of the COVID-19 response when jobs shifted and many workers lost income. The ban was intended to hold back the spread of the virus among people put out on the streets and into shelters. It was extended several times during the course of the pandemic but finally expired on Saturday.
Last Thursday, Biden announced that he would not extend the moratorium again in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that suggested congressional action was necessary for another extension.
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in late June to allow the broad eviction ban to continue through the end of July. One of those in the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said he agreed that the CDC had exceeded its authority when it put the ban in place, but nonetheless voted for it to remain because it was scheduled to expire soon.
Kavanaugh also made clear he would block any additional extensions unless there was "clear and specific congressional authorization."
The White House has maintained that Biden wanted to extend the moratorium but that concerns remained over challenging the court. Doing so could lead to a ruling restricting the administration’s ability to respond to future public health crises.
Still, some Democratic lawmakers said they were caught by surprise from Biden’s Thursday announcement and were left with only days to act before the ban expired.
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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the chair of the Financial Services Committee, produced a draft of a bill that would require the CDC to continue the ban through Dec. 31. At a hastily arranged hearing Friday morning to consider the bill, she urged her colleagues to act.
In the end, Democratic lawmakers had questions and concerns and could not muster support to extend the ban.
On Sunday, hours after the expiration, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said that Democrats had to "call a spade a spade" and pointed to her own party.
"We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have a majority," the progressive congresswoman said on CNN's "State of the Union."
Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats joined Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who camped outside the Capitol over the weekend in protest.
Housing advocates fear the end of the eviction moratorium could result in millions of people being evicted. But most expect the wave of evictions to build slowly over the coming weeks and months as the bureaucracy of removing people from their homes restarts.
Activists occupy the steps to the House of Representatives with U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) as they continue their protest for an extension of the eviction moratorium at the U.S. Capitol Building on August 1, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel
Another source of frustration for lawmakers is the slow pace of pandemic relief already approved by Congress — nearly $47 billion in federal housing aid to the states — getting to renters and landlords owed payments. Biden has called on local governments to "take all possible steps" to disburse the funds immediately.
"There can be no excuse for any state or locality not accelerating funds to landlords and tenants that have been hurt during this pandemic," Biden said in a statement Friday.
The top House Democratic leaders urged the Treasury Department to "indicate how the funds that it has already transferred to states and communities can be more effectively distributed to renters and landlords."
"The virus is still a threat. The moratorium must be extended, and the funds Congress allocated to assist renters and landlords must be spent," the lawmakers wrote in the joint statement. "An extension of the moratorium is based on public health and the delta variant. It will also give more time to allow the money that Congress allocated to finally flow."
RELATED: Cori Bush camped at Capitol to protest looming expiration of eviction ban
This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.