WASHINGTON, DC– A bipartisan group of senators and representatives announced today a compromise coronavirus relief package “designed to get us through the next quarter,” including $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. This is an important step towards providing the resources and protections needed to ensure America’s lowest-income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and others remain stably housed during this global health crisis.
Without significant federal action, up to 30 million to 40 million renters could be at risk of losing their homes when the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ends later this month, during a deadly resurgence of the pandemic. The consequences of inaction will be deadly and costly – for children and families, for communities, and for our country’s ability to contain the pandemic.
This bipartisan emergency relief framework is an important step towards a comprehensive set of solutions. Ultimately, Congress must provide resources at the scale necessary to prevent a tsunami of evictions and to address the urgent health and housing needs of low-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.
At least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and housing vouchers is needed to keep renters stably housed during the pandemic. An additional $11.5 billion in grants to homeless shelter and service providers is needed to keep people experiencing homelessness healthy and safe, and to get them housed as quickly as possible. And Congress should extend, strengthen, and enforce the federal eviction moratorium issued by the CDC to ensure there is no gap in protections between when the current moratorium ends on December 31 and when state and local governments can distribute aid to households in need.
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