US preparing new 60-day eviction ban

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will put in place a new eviction moratorium that would protect areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives, a turnaround after progressive lawmakers pushed the White House to do more to prevent some 3.6 million Americans from losing their homes during the COVID-19 crisis.

President Joe Biden stopped short Tuesday of announcing the new ban on evictions during a press conference at the White House. But the new 60-day eviction moratorium would protect areas heavily impacted by the coronavirus, where about 90% of the U.S. population lives, according to three people familiar with the plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the forthcoming announcement.

“My hope is it’s going to be a new moratorium,” Biden told reporters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a legal authority for a new and different moratorium for areas with high and substantial increases in COVID-19 infections.

The extension could help heal a rift with liberal Democratic lawmakers who were calling on the president to take executive action to keep renters in their homes as the delta variant of the coronavirus spread and a prior moratorium lapsed over the weekend.

“For 5 days, we’ve been out here, demanding that our government acts to save lives,” tweeted U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who led the protest outside the U.S. Capitol since the moratorium expired. “Today, our movement moved mountains.”

Administration officials had previously said a Supreme Court ruling stopped them from setting up a new moratorium without congressional backing, saying states and cities must be more aggressive in releasing nearly $47 billion in relief for renters on the verge of eviction.

Biden also said he didn’t want to tell the CDC, which has taken the public health lead in responding to the pandemic, what to do.

“I asked the CDC to go back and consider other options that may be available,” he said.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ftBxRg