Congress failed to extend the federal eviction moratorium - which expires after July 31

 

Congress failed to extend the federal eviction moratorium - which expires after July 31 - before going into recess

The House on Friday failed to extend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's federal evacuation moratorium.

House leaders introduced an extension to the unanimous vote, which at least one member contested.

House members are off for August recess, and the suspension ends the day after tomorrow, affecting millions.

The House and Republicans failed to pass a bill Friday that would extend the CDC's eviction moratorium, which was taken since September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is due to expire after Saturday, July 31. , 2021.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer brought the legislation to a unanimous vote, which Republican House members blocked.

After the bill failed, Whip Rep. Pelosi, Hoyer, and House Majority James Cleburne wrote a statement expressing their disappointment.

"It is deeply frustrated that House and Senate Republicans have refused to pass this issue. "We strongly urge them to help millions of Americans and instead join us to help the tenants and landlords most affected by the pandemic and prevent a nationwide eviction crisis."

But others in the Democratic Party criticized their leadership for not doing enough to extend the freeze. The House is now in a recess in August, likely to end on September 20, 2021, while the suspension ends tomorrow night.

Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, introduced the extension bill and told reporters, "I just thought we should have fought harder."

Pelosi sent an email to House Democrats early in the day asking them to support the bill, and progressive Democrats spent Friday urging their colleagues to sign the bill.

"I urge you to hear me on this issue because as a congresswoman who has not been a former residence, I have been evicted three times myself," Missouri Representative Cory Bush wrote in a letter to her House colleagues. "...If Congress does not act now, the fallout from the eviction crisis will undoubtedly set us back as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate our communities – needlessly contributing to more death and suffering."

The failure to extend the moratorium on evictions came after the White House, at the eleventh hour, asked Congress to enact legislation on the matter, saying that his administration would have "vigorously" supported the decision to renew the ban but that it claimed it was unable to do. He was so quoting a ruling from the Supreme Court.

Last month, (CDC) extended the moratorium on evictions until July 31. So the Supreme Court ruling stated that a clear and specific authorization from Congress would be necessary for the CDC centers to extend the moratorium beyond July 31," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

On the House floor Friday night, Representative Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, asked for unanimous approval to extend the eviction moratorium before the House reconvenes before the end-July deadline. The vote failed based on one objection, and the House of Representatives will convene next Tuesday.

"Their statement suddenly struck us, and no one expected it," said a House Democrat aide, who declined to be identified. "You just didn't leave enough time."

About 6 million Americans are at risk of eviction in the coming months, or 16% of all renters, according to Census Pulse survey data, after the moratorium expires on July 31.