Progressive lawmakers urge extension of eviction moratorium

They argue that communities with lower vaccination rates and higher COVID-19 cases also often have many renters “at heightened risk of eviction.”

Several leading progressive Democrats on Capitol Hill have urged the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to extend and strengthen a federal eviction moratorium that is set to expire at the end of the month. In a new letter sent late Monday, led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Cori Bush, D-Mo. and Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and co-signed by 41 other House Democrats, the members of Congress call the issue an “urgent matter of health, racial and economic justice.” They argue that communities with lower vaccination rates and higher COVID-19 cases also often have many renters “at heightened risk of eviction.” “Allowing the moratorium to expire before vaccination rates increase in marginalized communities could lead to increased spread of, and deaths from, COVID-19,” the letter reads.