U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and French Hill (R-AR) on Aug. 27 urged passage of GOP-sponsored legislation that would speed payment of rental assistance funds after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s extended eviction moratorium.
The High Court’s majority on Aug. 26 voted 6-3, with the court’s three liberal justices dissenting, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) two-month extended ban on evictions exceeded the CDC’s authority.
“This was entirely avoidable, especially if the administration properly managed and ensured the rental assistance Congress had already passed was sent to people who needed it,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers, ranking member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. “President Biden said himself extending the unlawful eviction moratorium was ‘not likely to pass constitutional muster.”
“Now, as predicted, we have more uncertainty and confusion,” she said. “It’s because of the administration’s mismanagement and disregard for the rule of law.”
Rep. Hill agreed, noting that the Biden administration knew that the unilateral extension of the eviction moratorium would not hold up in court.
“In June, the Supreme Court clearly expressed that congressional authorization would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31,” Rep. Hill said. “Democrats had two months to pass legislation yet chose not to act or even bring a bill to the floor of the House of Representatives because they didn’t have the votes.”
The best way forward, the congressman said, is to effectively distribute the nearly $47 billion Congress has already appropriated to the landlords and tenants that need it.
“House Republicans have a real solution to fix the Biden administration’s mismanagement of the Emergency Rental Assistance programs, the Renter Protection Act, which would help get money out the door more quickly and keep Americans in their homes,” said Rep. Hill, who serves on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
If enacted, the Renter Protection Act of 2021, H.R. 3913, introduced on June 15 by U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and 22 GOP original cosponsors, would provide for expedited payment of emergency rental assistance funds, according to the text of the bill.
Republicans on both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Financial Services Committee sent an Aug. 6 letter to U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticizing President Joe Biden’s extension of the eviction moratorium and condemning House Democrats’ inability to find a permanent solution for American renters.
“No one wants to see people lose their homes and the lives they’ve built, and another unconstitutional moratorium is clearly not the answer,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers, who noted that Republican committee members also demand that Pelosi bring the House back to work to permanently address the nation’s eviction crisis by passing H.R. 3913.