President Joe Biden and Democratic congressmen are trying to find
a last-minute solution
to extend the federal moratorium on evictions, after the administration acknowledged Thursday that it cannot prevent the measure from expiring on Saturday after the resolution of the Supreme Court on the subject.
The White House explained that the president, Joe Biden, would have wanted to extend the federal extension of evictions due to
the spread of the
highly contagious
delta variant
of the coronavirus.
[How to benefit from Biden's help to avoid being evicted from your home]
The president required legislators to act "without delay," by asking "Congress to extend the moratorium on evictions to protect these vulnerable tenants and their families without delay" due to the blockade of the highest court in the country.
"Given the recent spread of the delta variant, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect tenants at this time of greatest vulnerability. "the White House said in a statement.
"Unfortunately,
the Supreme Court has made it clear that this option is no longer available,
" he said.
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July 29, 202100: 28
At the end of March, 6.4 million American households were behind on their rent, according to figures from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Many of them were Latino families.
On July 5, some 3.6 million people faced eviction in the next two months, according to the US Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
Talks
The task forces of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said they are both
working against the clock
on legislation to extend the moratorium.
Democrats will try to pass a bill as soon as possible and
urge Republicans not to block it
.
In fact, a bill to extend the measure until the end of the year was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, but the prospect of a legislative solution remains unsure.
[Biden extends ban on evictions for non-payment of mortgage until June 30]
The Supreme Court approved last month,
by a narrow
5-4
majority
, maintaining the ban on evicting people behind in their payments until July 31.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who voted in favor, already
warned that he would block
any additional extension, unless there was a "clear and specific authorization from Congress."
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also announced in June that
the moratorium would not be renewed
beyond the last day of July.
Many aid not distributed
The measure came into effect initially to prevent the virus from spreading among people who lost their homes and had to live on the streets and in shelters.
Activists in favor of decent housing and some legislators insist on the need to extend the moratorium due to the increase in cases of coronavirus and the little aid for rent.
Congress allocated about
$ 47 billion in aid
, which was to go to tenants with late rent payments.
But as of June, states and local governments had only distributed about $ 3 billion out of the first $ 25 billion tranche.
Some states like New York have given out practically nothing, while several have only approved a few million dollars.
New cases of COVID-19 in the US increased 131% in the last week
July 29, 202100: 42
"The confluence of the growing delta variant, with 6.5 million families behind in paying rent and at risk of eviction when the moratorium expires requires
immediate action
," demanded the executive director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Diane Yentel.
"The healthcare need to expand tenant protections is clear. If federal court cases make a broad extension impossible, the Biden Administration should implement all possible alternatives, including a more limited moratorium on federally backed properties." He suggested.
[An internal CDC document warns that the delta variant of COVID-19 is as contagious as chickenpox]
The United States is once again the epicenter of the pandemic, after registering more than 500,000 infections last week, the highest number in the world.
With information from AP and The Washington Post