WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) Cori Bush (MO-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), sent a letter reiterating their ongoing calls for President Biden and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky to extend the federal eviction moratorium and prevent the historic and deadly wave of evictions that would occur if the government fails to do so.
The letter comes with the CDC’s moratorium scheduled to expire at midnight.
“In the midst of the ongoing pandemic and the growing surges of the Delta variant across the nation, the impending eviction crisis is a matter of public health and safety and demands an urgent government response,” wrote the lawmakers. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must leverage every authority available to extend the eviction moratorium before it is too late.”
In their letter, the lawmakers noted that they continue to work diligently to push for legislative action and ensure that states and localities are disbursing the billions in critical emergency rental assistance to renters and property owners that Congress passed most recently as part of the American Rescue Plan. The lawmakers continue to call on House leadership to reconvene the House of Representatives and take a recorded vote on the Protecting Renters from Evictions Act of 2021, legislation led by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) and co-sponsored by Congressman Gomez that would extend the moratorium through December 31, 2021.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 6 million renter households are behind on their rent and at risk of eviction, with Black, Latino, Asian, and Indigenous households most likely to be behind on their rental payments. While national vaccination rates are continuing to trend upwards and COVID-19 hospitalization rates are down in many communities, communities with lower vaccination rates and higher COVID-19 cases tend to be the same as those with renters at heightened risk of eviction when the moratorium expires.
“The eviction crisis will only exacerbate the trauma and hurt that has been borne by our most vulnerable communities and undermine our national efforts to combat the spread of this virus,” continued the lawmakers. “Extending the eviction moratorium is a matter of life and death for the communities we represent. We implore you to act with the urgency this moment demands.”
Full text of the letter is available here.
Last month, Congressman Gomez, along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush (MO-01), led over 40 of their colleagues on a letter urging President Biden and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to extend and strengthen the moratorium for the duration of the public health crisis.
Original source can be found here.
