White House: CDC Can't Extend Eviction Ban

Biden urges landlords to pause evictions for at least 30 days
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2021 3:20 PM CDT
White House: CDC Can't Extend Eviction Ban
In this Oct. 14, 2020 photo, housing activists erect a sign in Swampscott, Mass.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

The nationwide moratorium on evictions expired over the weekend—and the White House said Monday that the CDC hasn't been able to find the authority to extend it. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the "legal authority for a new, targeted eviction moratorium," the Hill reports. The CDC first issued the ban last September to stop the spread of COVID-19, but a Supreme Court ruling last month suggested that further extensions would require action from Congress. "Our team is redoubling efforts to identify all available legal authorities to provide necessary protections," Psaki said. Biden has challenged landlords to hold off on evictions for at least 30 days and Psaki said executive action is being considered despite potential legal problems, reports USA Today.

An estimated 3.6 million Americans are now at risk of eviction, and the Biden administration has urged authorities to speed up the distribution of $47 billion intended to help families pay back rent and remain in their homes, the AP reports. "Too many states and cities have been too slow to act," Psaki said Monday. Only a few states, including New York and California, have their own eviction moratoriums in place, reports NPR. Biden has been under pressure from congressional Democrats to take action. On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was "unfathomable" that Americans will be evicted from their homes as the delta variant of the coronavirus surges. "We all agree that the eviction crisis is an enormous challenge to the conscience of our country," she wrote in a letter to colleagues. (More evictions stories.)

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