Eviction moratorium unconstitutional, say Johnson, colleagues

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) joined dozens of Republican lawmakers to oppose the Biden administration’s eviction moratorium issued on Aug. 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

“This latest action is plainly unconstitutional and will only serve to further distort the market and create a housing affordability crisis,” wrote Rep. Johnson and 30 of his colleagues. “We urge you to respect the Constitution and rescind the moratorium.”

Additionally, according to their Aug. 11 letter sent to President Joe Biden, any further restrictions on evictions would be counterproductive as the nation’s “economy is open, jobs and vaccines are abundant, and federal rental assistance is a reality.”

Among the bicameral list of lawmakers who joined Rep. Johnson in signing the letter were U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and U.S. Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH).

The previous eviction moratorium expired on July 31 and the CDC extended it in cities with “substantial” spread of COVID-19 until Oct. 3, wrote the lawmakers, adding that the action disregards the recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, in which U.S. Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31.”

“Instead of pursuing an unconstitutional moratorium, the Biden administration should be focused on distributing the nearly $50 billion in rental assistance that was appropriated through three separate stimulus packages,” wrote Rep. Johnson and his colleagues. “A recent Treasury report found very little of this money has been disbursed so far, and your new moratorium will act as an additional disincentive for tenants to apply for this aid, leaving property owners on the hook.”

In fact, property owners around the country will continue to struggle financially because the moratorium effectively forces them “to provide a good without compensation” while still having to pay mortgages, taxes, and maintenance for their properties, wrote the lawmakers.

“If this continues much longer, we will see a wave of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and blighted properties that will negatively affect housing affordability,” Rep. Johnson and his colleagues wrote. “We demand you end this moratorium and allow the rental assistance funds to do what they were intended to do.”