On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new ban, halting the “expulsion of tenants”, which will last until October 3. Previously, people have accused the Biden administration of allowing the existence of the “tenant eviction order” so that helpless tenants become homeless during the pandemic. The Biden administration also wanted to quell people’s growing acuteness. Criticism.
As the delta variant of the new crown virus has spread, and states are making slow progress in issuing federal relief rents, the new moratorium may help provide shelter for millions of people. The new moratorium will apply to counties and counties where the virus is spreading “in large numbers and at high risk”, temporarily prohibiting landlords in these places from evicting tenants, and this will cover areas where 90% of the population lives in the United States.
After the U.S. Supreme Court decided “not to suspend tenant eviction orders,” this new announcement issued by the Biden administration made the opposite decision. Despite the legal uncertainty, some progressive legislators still choose to adopt new measures. This is also in their efforts to push the White House to take more actions to prevent about 3.6 million Americans from becoming homeless during the epidemic. A new victory was achieved.
On Tuesday afternoon, at a press conference held at the White House, US President Biden briefly announced a new “suspension of eviction of tenants” and handed over the related responsibilities to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I hope to issue a new order to suspend the eviction of tenants,” Biden told reporters.
This extension may help bridge the differences with the liberal Democrats, who called on the president to take administrative measures to keep tenants at home because the delta variant of the new crown virus is spreading, and the previous “ban on the eviction of tenants” The order of has expired last weekend.
Before the introduction of the new policy, the Biden team had taken a series of actions to assure the Democratic Party and the country that they could find a way to control the potential threat caused by the eviction of tenants through federal assistance. But most lawmakers said that this is not enough, and Biden’s pressure is increasing.
Democratic Rep. Cori Bush has been camping outside the Capitol, and this new congresswoman lived in her car when she was a young mother. She launched a fierce protest, urging the White House to prevent landlords from evictions on a large scale. More and more Democratic leaders have joined her.
“We have been here for five days, asking our government to take action to save our lives,” she wrote on Twitter. “Today, our campaign finally achieved results.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said this is a “happy day”.
“For countless families across the United States, the current fear of being deported and driven to the street has been lifted. The community has extended a helping hand!” Pelosi said in a statement.
Government officials have previously stated that a Supreme Court ruling prohibits them from enacting a new moratorium without the support of Congress, and that states and cities must accelerate the pace and provide nearly $47 billion in relief to tenants who are about to be evicted. .
President Biden stated that he sought the opinions of legal experts and asked if there are other ways to solve the problem, but the answers he received were mixed, although some people said that it is “worth a try.” Biden He also said that he did not want to tell the CDC-the public health agency that takes the lead in responding to the pandemic-what to do.
“I hope the CDC can consider other possible options when they go back,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States passed a legal authorization to implement new and different “tenant evictions” measures in areas with high rates of new coronavirus infections and a large number of new cases.
In addition, Biden insisted that federal funds are still sufficient. About 47 billion US dollars of funds have previously been approved to solve the new crown crisis and can now be used to help tenants and landlords in difficulties.
“The funds are in place,” Biden said.
The White House stated that national and local governments are making slow progress in the use of funds, and the White House is urging them to improve efficiency.
On August 3, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed House Democrats of the work being done to ensure that federal housing assistance can benefit tenants and landlords. According to people familiar with the matter, Yellen provided data to allow lawmakers to better understand the performance of their constituency and state in distributing relief supplies.
According to another person who asked not to be named, Yellen tried to encourage the Democrats to cooperate even though the lawmakers believed that Biden should take action on his own to extend the moratorium on the deportation order.
This person said that Yellen mentioned on the phone that she agreed that “everyone should mobilize resources” and also praised the efforts of the Democrats and her hope to “completely solve the problem.”
As the eviction crisis intensifies, the White House often mentions that Biden is doing his best under the constraints of the law. The Biden administration has repeatedly refused to extend the deportation order again because the Supreme Court seems likely to block the decision. When the Supreme Court voted 5 in favor and 4 against to allow the deportation ban to last until the end of July, the majority judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote that Congress must take action to further extend the ban.
With the expiration of the initial deportation order, the Biden administration emphasized that many Americans will be able to continue to live with the financial support that has been approved for aid and other projects. The White House pointed out that efforts to prevent evictions at the state level will save one-third of the United States from evictions of tenants next month.
Nevertheless, Biden still faces strong criticism, even partly from the Democratic Party. Critics believe that Biden’s progress in working to end the “tenant eviction order” is too slow, and some people still face a very urgent risk of homelessness.
Pelosi once said that the prospect of mass deportation is “unpredictable.” The Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and other progressive members have all increased pressure on the White House to immediately extend the deadline for the bill.
Late last week, Biden announced that he would allow the ban to expire, pushing Congress to take action. However, lawmakers were unable to win votes quickly because even Democrats questioned the extension of the deportation order for a few more months.
Due to job changes, many workers lost their income. As part of the response to the new crown epidemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented the initial deportation order to prevent the spread of the virus among people sleeping on the streets and in shelters.
Democratic congressmen believe that they were surprised by Biden’s “suspension of the deportation order”, which caused internal panic and anger, and a rare rift was exposed between him and the Biden administration. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated at the end of June that it might not extend the deportation order beyond the end of July.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Waters has been talking to Yellen privately for several days and urged Yellen to use her influence and urge states to use the funds. But Waters also called on the CDC to take action on its own.
After the CDC issued a statement on August 3, Waters also issued a statement thanking Biden for “listening to and encouraging the CDC to take action.” Waters said that the extension of the ban is the “lifeline” that millions of families have been waiting for. (Fortune Chinese Network)
Compiler: Chen Congcong, Yang Eryi
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until October 3, as the Biden administration sought to quell intensifying criticism that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic.
The new moratorium could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has spread and states have been slow to release federal rental aid. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of virus transmissions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives.
The announcement was something of a reversal for the Biden administration after saying that a Supreme Court ruling prevented a moratorium. But the choice to impose a new measure in the face of legal uncertainty was also a win for the progressive lawmakers who pushed the White House to do more to prevent some 3.6 million Americans from losing their homes during the COVID-19 crisis.
President Joe Biden stopped short Tuesday afternoon of announcing the new ban on evictions during a press conference at the White House, ceding the responsibility to the CDC.
“My hope is it’s going to be a new moratorium,” Biden told reporters.
The extension could help heal a rift with liberal Democratic lawmakers who were calling on the president to take executive action to keep renters in their homes as the delta variant of the coronavirus spread and a prior moratorium lapsed over the weekend.
The new policy came amid a scramble of actions by the Biden team to reassure Democrats and the country that it could find a way to limit the damage from potential evictions through the use of federal aid. But pressure mounted as key lawmakers said it was not enough.
Top Democratic leaders joined Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who has been camped outside the U.S. Capitol, the freshman congresswoman who once lived in her car as a young mother, leading a passionate protest urging the White House to prevent widespread evictions.
“For 5 days, we’ve been out here, demanding that our government acts to save lives,” she tweeted. “Today, our movement moved mountains.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was a day of “extraordinary relief.”
“The imminent fear of eviction and being put out on the street has been lifted for countless families across America. Help is Here!” Pelosi said in a statement.
Administration officials had previously said a Supreme Court ruling stopped them from setting up a new moratorium without congressional backing, saying states and cities must be more aggressive in releasing nearly $47 billion in relief for renters on the verge of eviction.
The president said he sought input from legal scholars about whether there were options and said the advice was mixed, though some suggested, “It’s worth the effort.” Biden also said he didn’t want to tell the CDC, which has taken the public health lead in responding to the pandemic, what to do.
“I asked the CDC to go back and consider other options that may be available,” he said.
The CDC has identified a legal authority for a new and different moratorium for areas with high and substantial increases in COVID-19 infections.
Biden also insisted there is federal money available — some $47 billion previously approved during the COVID-19 crisis — that needs to get out the door to help renters and landlords.
“The money is there,” Biden said.
The White House has said state and local governments have been slow to push out that federal money and is pressing them to do so swiftly.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen briefed House Democrats Tuesday about the work underway to ensure the federal housing aid makes it to renters and landlords. She provided data so that lawmakers could see how their districts and states are performing with distributing the relief, according to a person on the call.
The treasury secretary tried to encourage Democrats to work together, even as lawmakers said Biden should act on his own to extend the eviction moratorium, according to someone on the private call who insisted on anonymity to discuss its contents.
Yellen said on the call, according to this person, that she agrees “we need to bring every resource to bear” and that she appreciated the Democrats’ efforts and wants “to leave no stone unturned.”
As the eviction crisis mounted, the White House frequently said Biden was doing all he could under legal constraints. The administration had repeatedly resisted another extension because the Supreme Court appears likely to block it. When the court allowed the eviction ban to remain in place through the end of July by a 5-4 vote, one justice in the majority, Brett Kavanaugh, wrote that Congress would have to act to extend it further.
As the initial moratorium expired, the administration emphasized many Americans will be able to stay housed with money already approved for aid and other efforts underway. The White House noted that state-level efforts to stop evictions would spare a third of the country from evictions over the next month.
Still, Biden faced stinging criticism, including from some in his own party, that he was was slow to address the end of the moratorium. Some people were at immediate risk of losing their homes.
Pelosi had called the prospect of widespread evictions “unfathomable.” The Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other progressive lawmakers intensified pressure on the White House to issue an immediate extension.
Late last week, Biden announced he was allowing the ban to expire, pushing Congress to act, but lawmakers were unable to swiftly rally the votes as even Democrats questioned prolonging the eviction ban for a few more months.
The CDC put the initial eviction 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.
Democratic lawmakers said they were caught by surprise by Biden’s decision to end the moratorium, creating frustration and anger and exposing a rare rift with the administration. The CDC indicated in late June that it probably wouldn’t extend the eviction ban beyond the end of July.
Rep. Maxine Waters, the powerful chair of the Financial Services Committee, has been talking privately for days with Yellen and urged the treasury secretary to use her influence to prod states to push the money out the door. But Waters also called on the CDC to act on its own.
After the CDC’s announcement Tuesday, Waters released a statement thanking Biden “for listening and for encouraging the CDC to act! This extension of the moratorium is the lifeline that millions of families have been waiting for.”