House panel makes long-term effort to extend deportation ban

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A House panel will meet on Friday morning to try to push a long-term effort to extend the federal moratorium on evictions after the Biden administration said it would let it expire on Saturday.

The group will meet Friday at 8 am EST, shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Issued a “Dear Colleague” letter Thursday evening calling on its members to honor the president’s request.

Warning that “families must not pay the price” for the slow distribution of funds approved by Congress, the House Democrat went on to say that “Extending the moratorium on evictions is a moral imperative – and one that is simple and necessary, since Congress has already allocated resources that help both tenants and housing providers. “

The White House confirmed earlier Thursday that Biden will allow the moratorium to expire, but called on Congress to pass new protections due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the move, arguing that the commander-in-chief’s hands were tied by a recent Supreme Court ruling that it would take Congressional clearance to extend the ban on evictions imposed by the CDC beyond July 31.

United States President Joe Biden talks about the next steps in efforts to get more Americans vaccinated and to combat the spread of the Delta variant in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 29 2021. — The Biden administration plans to let the moratorium expire this Saturday.

“Given the recent spread of the Delta variant… Biden would have strongly supported a CDC decision to further extend this moratorium on evictions,” Psaki said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court made it clear that this option was no longer available,” she added.

“In light of the Supreme Court ruling, the president calls on Congress to extend the moratorium on evictions to protect these vulnerable tenants and their families without delay. “

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed the Biden administration for appearing on Punchbowl News Thursday night.

“For the White House to do this right before we are about to leave.” [on August recess] is fair, it is ridiculous, ”said the far-left pol.

“I don’t want to hear about how they’ve been trying all this time, there hasn’t been the advocacy, the voice, etc., that we need to have on this issue. I’m on Financial Services, which has jurisdiction over housing, we have the secretary right there. And we asked questions about the administration’s position. And we weren’t getting any engagement on extension advocacy. So I’m not here to apologize for the court’s fault. It’s about administration.

The moratorium on CDC evictions was put in place last year by President Donald Trump after Congress found itself in a deadlock over COVID-19 aid legislation that would have extended an initial legislative moratorium.

While the moratorium is legally questionable, Trump has said he must act due to a partisan deadlock. Trump also unilaterally resurrected federal unemployment supplement and suspended payments and interest on federal student loans.

A banner against evicting tenants not reading Jobs, No Rent is displayed on a rent-controlled building in Washington, DC on August 9, 2020. was based on relief measures approved earlier by Congress , but most of which expired in July. A key Trump order promises to add $ 400 a week to Americans' unemployment benefits, while two others offer some eviction protection and student loan relief. — A patchwork of state and local policies will replace the federal ban on evictions.

A patchwork of state and local policies will replace the federal ban on evictions, and the White House has said it is encouraging states to adopt diversion plans for people who agree to get back on track with rent.

A wave of evictions could bring down soaring house prices and allow landlords to get back on their feet by getting rid of unpaid tenants.

But it’s also a political responsibility for Biden, who regularly highlights the effects of the pandemic on low-income people, especially mothers unable to work due to the increase in childcare duties caused by the closure of schools.

A tenant speaks with a Maricopa County officer who arrived with an eviction order on October 7, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. The tenant was able to prove that she had paid the rent and the order was withdrawn. Thousands of court-ordered evictions continue across the country despite a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) moratorium on tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Although state and county officials say they have tried to educate the public about the protections, many tenants are unaware and do not complete the forms necessary to stay in their homes. In many cases, landlords have developed more flexible payment plans with vulnerable tenants, although these temporary solutions have become onerous as the pandemic continues. With millions of Americans still unemployed due to the pandemic, federal proposals for rent assistance remain stuck in Congress. The expiration of the CDC's moratorium at the end of the year is looming, as tenants and landlords face a potential tsunami of evictions and foreclosures nationwide. — The moratorium on CDC evictions was put in place last year by President Donald Trump after the congressional standoff over COVID-19 aid legislation.

It’s unclear what the outcome of the Rules Committee’s efforts on Friday will be. Even if such an effort could be passed in the House, it would face a grim future in the Senate.

The Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, although Vice President Kamala Harris, as Speaker of the Senate, has a deciding vote.

Yet 51 votes are not enough under current rules to break the filibuster, with the Senate rule requiring 60 members to end debate on most topics and vote.

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