Newsom: California Will Pay Rent To Those Who Can't 3:53
(CNN) -
Sixteen months after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the economy and left millions of Americans out of work, the historic aid programs that Congress put in place are set to begin to expire.
Lawmakers rushed in March 2020 to cushion the financial hit from the virus by passing a wide range of financial aid measures.
Congress, as well as the Trump and Biden administrations, then extended protections multiple times as the pandemic continued to sweep across the nation.
But now, even as COVID-19 cases rise once again as the delta variant spreads, millions of Americans will soon begin to lose their federal safety net.
And there is less appetite between the Biden administration and lawmakers, including many Democrats, to extend them again.
Housing protections are scheduled to end later this week, and unemployment benefits after the first weekend in September.
The pause in federal student loan payments and food stamp subsidies expire at the end of September.
ANALYSIS |
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This is what you should know:
Federal housing protections are ending
The federal eviction ban issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will expire at the end of July, putting millions at risk of losing their homes.
The agency and the White House have said it will not be extended again.
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As a result, a patchwork of guardrails and exit ramps may remain in some locations to protect tenants until rental assistance funds arrive.
The $ 46 billion in federal rental aid money, approved by Congress in its last two rescue packages, will continue to be distributed through states, cities and local entities.
Some states extended their own eviction protections, including New York, which has an eviction ban in effect until August 31, and California, which has extended the ban until September. Although Oregon has not extended its ban, tenants have until the end of February to pay the amount due between April 2020 and June 2021.
Other places have created an "exit ramp" for struggling tenants who have recently been left unprotected from the eviction ban, but have not yet received rent relief. In Minnesota, for example, lawmakers have prohibited eviction for non-payment of tenants who are in the process of applying for a rent waiver through June 2022. Others have created "eviction diversion" programs that involve mediation between the landlord and tenant before evictions can proceed.
If you still need help covering rent or helping pay back rent, there is a searchable list of programs available from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and also one run by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. .
The federal foreclosure ban, which protects homeowners with government-backed loans, will also expire at the end of July.
Homeowners with a loan backed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who have not entered into a Forbearance program, which allows them to defer or delay their payments, will be able to enter that program until September, as will those with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac who have difficulties related to the coronavirus.
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There are about 1.75 million people who remain indulgent, more than 50% less than their pandemic peak, according to the White House.
To help homeowners return to routine payments and avoid foreclosure, the Biden Administration and the Department of Housing are offering simplified loan modifications and payment reductions with the goal of helping homeowners with stay in their homes.
Extended unemployment benefits end for Labor Day
The three pandemic unemployment benefit programs will expire the first weekend of September in the states that continue them, affecting approximately 7.2 million people, according to Andrew Stettner, principal investigator for The Century Foundation.
All people in state and federal unemployment programs will lose the federal weekly supplement of US $ 300. Payments to those in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs also end.
The former provides subsidies to the self-employed, independent contractors and certain individuals affected by the coronavirus, while the latter extends the duration of payments to those receiving regular state unemployment benefits.
All three were created by Congress in March 2020 and ran through early September as part of the $ 1.9 trillion Democratic aid package that President Joe Biden signed in March.
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However, the expiration of the programs will affect only half the country.
That's because 23 states have already ended at least one of the pandemic programs, and Louisiana is scheduled to stop the $ 300 weekly increase after this week.
(Indiana had to restart the programs and Maryland had to continue to pay the subsidies after state courts ordered them to do so.)
About 3.6 million people lost some or all of their unemployment compensation in states that terminated programs early, Stettner said.
Once payments for the pandemic end, the unemployed will only be able to access state subsidies, which generally last 26 weeks, although some states currently offer as little as 14 weeks.
But the state program is not open to certain unemployed Americans, including the self-employed, the self-employed and those unable to return to work due to health or childcare problems stemming from the pandemic.
Some states also offer extended benefits of up to 20 weeks due to continued high unemployment rates.
Federal flexibilities that have allowed state unemployment agencies to hire temporary staff and call centers to handle the crush of people applying for subsidies also expire in early September.
While the numbers are much lower than at the beginning of the pandemic, they remain high and state agencies are still dealing with delays and fraudulent claims.
Enhanced Food Stamp Subsidies Stop End of September
A 15% increase in food stamp subsidies will expire on September 30.
The upgrade was first implemented in the $ 900 billion bailout deal that Congress approved in December and then rolled out in March.
The boost provides about $ 27 more per person, per month.
Lawmakers increased the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as food stamps are formally known, due to increased hunger during the pandemic.
The standard benefit generally does not last the entire month;
Before the increase, it did not cover the national average cost of meals in 96% of counties, according to a recently released Urban Institute report.
After the upgrade, that figure dropped to 41%.
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This is what we know
At least six states have stopped or will soon end another food stamp enhancement that Congress enacted in March 2020. The provision increased the allocation of beneficiaries to the maximum amount for their family size, but states must have a measure government emergency plan to provide additional funding.
More than 42.3 million Americans received food stamps in April, according to the most recent data from the US Department of Agriculture.
Federal Student Loan Payments Will Restart
Federal student loan payments will resume on October 1, after an unprecedented 19-month suspension that was implemented to provide financial relief to borrowers during the pandemic.
Borrower balances have been effectively frozen for more than a year, with no federal loan payments required since March 2020, when Congress first authorized the pause as part of one of its first major covid aid packages. .
The subsidy was later extended by the Trump and Biden administrations.
During this time, interest stopped accruing, saving the average borrower about $ 2,000 in the first year, and collections on delinquent debt have been suspended.
The relief is even more significant for those who work in the public sector and may be eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 years. They are still receiving credit for those 10 years of required payments as if they had continued to make them during the pandemic, as long as they continue to work full time for qualified employers.
Both the pause in payments and the waiver of interest are automatic, but only apply to loans from the federal government.
That covers about 85% of all federal student loans, including those known as direct federal loans and PLUS loans that parents have obtained on behalf of their children.
It excludes some federal loans that are guaranteed by the government but are not technically maintained by the government.
In general, they were disbursed before 2010.
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The Biden administration may again extend the pause in payments, but so far it has resisted calls to do so from dozens of Democrats.
Led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, they have repeatedly called on President Joe Biden to push the date back to at least March 31.
Schumer and Warren have also asked Biden to permanently cancel $ 50,000 per borrower.
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