Pelosi calls on CDC to unilaterally extend moratorium on evictions

As Democratic House leaders struggle to find enough party support to extend a moratorium on deportations, the president Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiCapitol, Charged with Riots, Launch Prison Newsletter: Money Report: Biden Calls on Congress to Extend Deportation Ban with Days Until Expiration | Economic growth reached an annual rate of 6.5% in the second quarter (D-Calif.) Advocates a temporary solution, urging the Biden administration to act unilaterally to help the country’s most vulnerable tenants.

The president said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has banned evictions until the end of Saturday, should extend the deadline further, giving House Democrats more time to codify the extension in the legislation.

“I think it’s something we’re going to fix. It’s not about more money – the money is there, it rests in communities and governors’ offices across the country,” Pelosi said Friday morning during a press briefing on Capitol Hill. . “So we would like the CDC to extend the moratorium. This is where it can be done.”

The remarks come as Pelosi and other Democratic leaders scramble to locate votes to extend the moratorium on legislative evictions – a demand that President BidenJoe Biden First Lady Leaves Walter Reed After Biden Foot Procedure Supports Efforts To Budget In Immigration MyPillow CEO To Remove Ads From Fox News MORE only done Thursday.

The rules committee considered the matter on Friday morning, debating a proposal sponsored by the representative. Maxine WatersMaxine Moore Waters Biparty bill will help level the playing field for small business Republicans hammer HUD chief over slow rental aid Key GOP lawmaker backs Powell for another term as Fed chief MORE (D-Calif.), Head of the financial services committee.

But a number of moderate Democrats oppose the bill – one brings the number of Democratic opponents to 14. And Democrats on all sides complain that Biden waited until Thursday – just two days before the House won’t leave Washington for a long summer. vacation – to ask Congress to look into the matter.

“I honestly wish he asked us sooner,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Chairman of the rules panel, in a hearing Friday morning.

Biden’s request came weeks after the Supreme Court on June 29 warned that the CDC did not have the power to extend the moratorium beyond July 31 without Congressional action.

Pelosi, however, takes a different point of view. Calling the extension “an imperative,” she said the House would eventually settle its differences and pass the water bill, which extends the moratorium until the end of the year.

“We are not deviating from this problem, either now or soon after,” she said. “We’re going to have to find a solution.

In the meantime, however, she calls on the country’s governors to use the billions of dollars Congress has already allocated to help tenants – she estimated the figure at $ 46 billion in unspent aid.

“The point is, almost $ 50 billion has been allocated – $ 46 billion. Less than 10% of that has been spent, around $ 3 billion,” she said. “Why should tenants be punished for the system not putting money in their pockets to pay rent to landlords?”

She also argued that the CDC had the power to extend the moratorium on its own – Supreme Court ruling or none.

“I think the CDC can do it,” she said.

Scott Wong and Sylvan Lane contributed.