EARTH FUTURE ACTION

EVICTION CRISIS IN THE U.S.

LEGISLATION MUST BE PASSED TO FIX THIS

UPDATE: On August 26th, 2021, the Supreme Court lifted the Biden administration's newest federal ban on evictions, granting a bid from a group of landlords to block pandemic-related protections for renters facing eviction in most of the country.

The court said that "if a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it." (CBS News, 8-27-21)

President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi had all of August to stop this and did not. They also had all of July to stop this and acted too late.

7-11 Million Americans now face eviction and being tossed out into the cold.

And nearly 3.7 million people say they feel it is somewhat or very likely they’ll be tossed out in the next two months. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, which was conducted from Aug. 18-30, finds that nearly 7.7 million Americans are behind on their rent. Nearly half, some 3.3 million, are one or two months behind, but 1.1 million are more than six months behind on rent payments (with nearly 744,000 being behind by eight months or more).

For the millions of Americans facing eviction, this is a complete social catastrophe. This cannot be reversed.

The U.S. rent crisis has escalated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar introduced the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act in March 2021 in order to provide aid to those struggling to meet payment deadlines. Under this bill, all renters and people in debt with a mortgage would be exempt from rent and mortgage payments throughout the pandemic.

More action is needed during this ongoing crisis. People are already struggling to pay their medical bills and now are at risk of being thrown out onto the street. Not only this, but the country is continuously running out of affordable places for people to stay. Even though interest rates and mortgages are currently at an all-time low, wealthy Americans are taking advantage of this opportunity to keep furthering themselves financially instead of first-time buyers. The U.S. needs to deal with this problem immediately. The gap between the rich and the poor is only growing.

What is also devastating is that 89% of Rental Assistance Funds Have Not Been Distributed, Figures Show. (New York Times, 8-25-21)

HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE CORI BUSH SHOWED GREAT LEADERSHIP

IN LEADING DEMONSTRATION ON CAPITOL STEPS TO DEMAND EXTENSION OF EVICTION MORATORIUM