Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released national statements this week calling for a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Warren’s statement also called for increased funding for homelessness serves, investments in affordable housing construction, and direct assistance.
Senator Feinstein, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Brown, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development, sent a joint letter to the National Sheriffs Association on March 17 in support of a moratorium on evictions. In the letter, the senators noted the economic uncertainty created by the coronavirus may cause financial stress and place workers at risk of eviction. “Suspending evictions for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis would reassure families that they are able to stay in their homes and maintain much needed stability in our communities,” the senators wrote.
In an op-ed published on March 16, Senator Warren called for a “grassroots stimulus package” that offers people direct assistance, including a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in federally subsidized or insured housing as well as increasing funding for homelessness services. The senator also highlighted the need for long-term investments in affordable housing construction, noting that investing in affordable housing development now “will stimulate the economy and create jobs in the short term, while lowering rents in the long term.”
Senators Feinstein’s and Brown’s joint letter is at: https://bit.ly/2UjKx02
Senator Warren’s op-ed is at: https://cnn.it/2x9H78d