WASHINGTON – A federal moratorium on evictions expired on July 24, and the Republican Senate package for the next round of coronavirus relief will not restore it.
The moratorium was not included in a series of bills introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which make up the party’s $ 1 billion proposal, known as the HEALS Act. An assistant to the Kentucky Republican confirmed that the policy is not part of the package.
The exclusion from the policy sets up a showdown with Democrats, who passed a $ 3.4 billion bill in the House that would extend the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for up to a year, and expand it to cover all tenants and homeowners. household.
Democrats are likely to try to negotiate it in the final package.
The omission in the Senate plan released Monday came a day after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the next aid bill would “lengthen” the moratorium on evictions. It is an indication that the Trump administration and the Republicans are not on the same page.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., criticized the McConnell-backed proposal to “have no blanket provision to protect Americans from evictions or foreclosures.”
“If he can barely pay the rent, cannot find a job, cannot feed his children or is fighting the future of his family, the Republican plan leaves him in the cold,” he said Tuesday.
Legislation passed by the House also includes $ 100 billion in emergency rental assistance to help local governments cover the costs of tenants and loss of income for landlords.
McConnell accused Democrats of playing politics with the aid bill, defending the Republican Senate plan as one that helps Americans with direct payments of up to $ 1,200 and other provisions.
“Do the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Democratic leader believe that struggling Americans deserve a result? He said Tuesday.” Or do they want to stand by and recite talking points? “
