House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is urging President Biden and his administration to renew and extend the eviction moratorium after the House failed to secure enough votes to pass legislation to prevent its lapse.
Why it matters: Millions of tenants across the country face the threat of eviction after the moratorium expired this weekend.
- Last week, President Biden called on Congress to extend the CDC's national eviction moratorium, saying the administration couldn't extend it past July 31 without specific legislation.
What they're saying: Democratic House leadership issued a statement on Sunday, calling on the administration to "immediately extend the moratorium" through Oct. 18.
- "Doing so is a moral imperative to keep people from being put out on the street which also contributes to the public health emergency," Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said.
- “The virus is still a threat. The moratorium must be extended, and the funds Congress allocated to assist renters and landlords must be spent. An extension of the moratorium is based on public health and the delta variant. It will also give more time to allow the money that Congress allocated to finally flow."
- Pelosi added in a letter to her Democratic colleagues on Monday that it "is unfathomable that we would not act to prevent people from being evicted."
- "As we urge the White House to act, please note that Congress will work to address any vulnerability to the CDC identified by the courts," she added.
Go deeper: Rep. Cori Bush and others sleep outside U.S. Capitol to protest end of federal eviction ban
