U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) this week led a Republican inquiry into the impact that federal eviction moratorium dating back to March 2020 have had on members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has placed financial and emotional burdens on all Americans,” wrote Rep. McMorris Rodgers and two of her colleagues in an Oct. 18 letter sent to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We are extremely concerned it has driven some landlords under financial pressure to recoup lost rent at the expense of service members who must stay current on debt obligations to remain in good standing with the military,” wrote the members, who also included U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
Rep. McMorris Rodgers and her colleagues requested that Secretary Austin answer several questions, including whether DOD is tracking trends in rent increases on military families that may be a direct result of the federal eviction moratorium, according to their letter.
They also asked the secretary about what action, if any, DOD is taking to help service members and their families address rent increases imposed on them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and if DOD has the authority to waive certain penalties to assist service members and military families who may be struggling to pay rent.
The members’ letter was spurred by related concerns military families expressed during the Oct. 14 Military Family Caucus Summit, an annual event co-hosted by Rep. McMorris Rodgers and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), who co-chair the Congressional Military Family Caucus, and at a recent meeting earlier this month at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash., where the congresswoman heard from families who expressed concerns that the eviction moratoria was unduly impacting them, according to the congresswoman’s staff.