Democratic congressmen are trying to find a way to extend until the end of the year the federal moratorium on evictions that expires on Saturday, after the government acknowledged that it cannot act after an unfavorable ruling from the Supreme Court.
This measure was enabled to protect people who have not been able to pay their mortgages or rents, due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the increase in infections due to the delta variant raises fears of a new setback in the financial recovery of citizens.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said in a letter sent to lawmakers late Thursday that expanding this mechanism is a "moral imperative."
[How to benefit from Biden's help to avoid being evicted from your home]
"It is one of the most heartbreaking situations that can be seen: cribs and personal items placed in the street for everyone to see or take, families who suffer the indignity of being forced to leave their homes and have to seek refuge" , he exposed.
The Rules Committee is scheduled to discuss a measure drafted by Democrat Maxime Waters on Friday morning that would extend the ban until Dec. 31.
But his future in the upper and lower houses of Congress is uncertain.
President Joe Biden also called on Congress Thursday to act "without delay" to find a solution to the problem.
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.
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"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.
Judicial setback
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.
But 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.
[Biden extends ban on evictions for non-payment of mortgage until June 30]
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.
The measure was also aimed at preventing the virus from spreading among people who lost their homes and had to live on the street or in shelters.
Activists in favor of decent housing insist on the need to extend the moratorium due to the increase in cases of coronavirus and the few subsidies for rent.
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"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