Nancy Pelosi, other Democrats call on Biden administration to extend eviction ban

United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders called on US President Joe Biden's administration to swiftly extend the country’s eviction moratorium while terming it as “moral imperative” to avoid Americans from being put out of their homes during a COVID-19 pandemic. As per The Associated Press report, around 3.6 million Americans are at risk of evictions and some of them as soon as Monday. Congress was unsuccessful in passing legislation to immediately extend the ban which ended up expiring on midnight Saturday, 31 July 2021 (local time).

However, Democratic leaders have said in a statement that it now depends on US President Joe Biden’s administration to act and hence called on the administration to extend the moratorium to October 18 due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases. In a statement published on Sunday night signed by Majority Leader Steny  Hoyer, Whip James E. Clyburn and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark, Pelosi said, “Action is needed, and it must come from the Administration...Science and reason demand that they must also extend the moratorium in light of the delta variant. Doing so is a moral imperative.”

Meanwhile, the White House has called on the localities as well as states to tap aid that is already approved by Congress and has no direct response to the Democrats’ call for action. Democratic lawmakers have also said that they were left astounded when Biden announced last Thursday that he would not extend the moratorium again in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that indicated congressional action was necessary for another extension.

‘Cannot blame Republican Party’

Since lawmakers were left with two days to take cation before the ban was set to expire, the frustration and anger further imposed a rare rift with the Biden administration. Hours after the ban expired on Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said that Democrats had to “call a spade a spade” while talking about her party. She also told CNN that, “We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have a majority.”

Over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic lawmakers camped outside the US Capitol for demonstrating. On Saturday, as no legislative action was pending, the chair of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters told CNN, “We thought that the White House was in charge.” The ban was placed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in line with the COVID-19 response when workers across the country suffered a blow and lost jobs.

IMAGE: AP

(With inputs from AP)