Representative Cori Bush (D-MO) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led 52 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on November 3 requesting additional information regarding the emergency rental assistance (ERA) reallocation process. The U.S. Department of the Treasury October 4 issued on guidance on reallocating the $25 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) appropriated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, referred to as “ERA1” (see Memo, 10/12).
The letter, which was endorsed by NLIHC, asks Treasury to issue further guidance on program improvement plans and the process Treasury will use to determine which ERA grantees will receive recaptured funds. The letter urges Treasury to include need- and equity-related measures in the ERA1 reallocation formula to ensure funds are reallocated to programs serving households with the greatest needs, and not to programs solely based on their ability to spend money the quickest.
The congressional letter urges Treasury to publish more detailed data about ERA grantees and households in need, including demographic information about applicants and the number of households who have applied for aid and been either accepted, denied, or had their applications deemed incomplete. Given the time-sensitive nature of the request, the members of Congress ask Treasury to provide a response no later than November 10, 2021.
Read the press release at: https://bit.ly/3ECoMxQ
Read the letter at: https://bit.ly/3bIQyfy