United States Eviction Update

Aug. 2, 2021 (EIRNS)—Today the United States’ national moratorium on evictions came to an end.

Among those in government who believe it should be extended, different government groups are arguing about why it is someone else’s responsibility.

The Supreme Court had expressed its view that the CDC could not continue to extend the eviction moratorium without action taken by the Congress. This was known for over a month. The House has recessed without passing a bill on extending the moratorium. Nancy Pelosi insists (wrongly, according to the Supreme Court) that the White House can extend the moratorium through executive action.

The Supreme Court ruling said the CDC “exceeded its existing statutory authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium” and that “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium.”

Several members of Congress, led by Cori Bush (D-MO), have held a protest on the steps of the Congress, demanding that the House return from its recess to extend the moratorium.

Shockingly, although Congress, acting from December 2020 to March 2021, approved over $46 billion in rental assistance grants through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, only about $3 billion has been distributed. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that 22 states had spent 1% or less of their allocation by the end of May. In mid-July, Wyoming sent postcards to every household in the state to make sure people knew about the program. The legwork to make the program accessible simply has not been done.

Some local governments and activists are taking actions, including statewide (New Jersey, California, New York, to name a few), countywide (ex: DeKalb County, Georgia), or municipal eviction moratoria, or direct actions. For example, in Kansas City, Missouri, a tenants’ group barred and locked the doors for the court building in which eviction hearings take place. In some states, the percentage of renters who have fallen behind is extremely high —over 20% in Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Lyndon LaRouche, seeing the onrushing collapse of housing and banking in 2007, crafted a proposal called the Homeowners and Bank Protection Act of 2007.