A nationwide moratorium imposed due to the corona pandemic expires on Sunday in the USA. This could have dramatic consequences for millions of Americans.
Millions of people in the USA are threatened with homelessness because a measure to protect against evictions in connection with the corona pandemic expires on Sunday. US President Joe Biden urged Congress on Thursday to extend the moratorium after the Supreme Court recently banned a proposed White House extension through September.
However, it is uncertain whether the Democrats will get the necessary majority in Congress, as the measure itself is controversial within their own party. In addition, “not a single Republican would support this measure,” said the chairman of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Only a fraction of the aid was paid out
Democrat Pelosi called on governors and local governments to “take all possible steps to distribute aid to tenants that has already been provided by Congress.” Unlike other US aid programs related to the corona pandemic, states, counties, and cities are responsible for helping tenants.
According to the Washington Treasury Department, less than $ 3 billion in subsidies for rent and utilities had been paid to affected households by June – out of a total of $ 25 billion made available to states and municipalities in early February.
The US Health Department (CDC) called for a moratorium on evictions in September 2020 after more than 20 million jobs were lost in the world’s largest economy due to the pandemic. The authority feared that increasing homelessness could also fuel the corona infection cases. Although many people have now found work again, numerous families are still behind with their rent payments.
According to the Census Bureau, 7.4 million of the 51 million tenants surveyed were still in arrears in the first week of July. Half of them said they would face eviction in the next two months. By the end of June, around 450,000 US households had received help through the emergency aid program for tenants. According to this, some states and municipalities have not yet paid any aid money.
The US Treasury Department launched a campaign in the past few days to provide information about the aid program and to help the authorities implement it. It referred to Virginia and Houston, where affected families had been successfully helped.
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