Johnson Calls for President Biden to End Unconstitutional Eviction Moratorium
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) along with 30 bicameral members of Congress called for President Biden to end the unconstitutional eviction moratorium.
“We strongly oppose the Biden administration’s latest eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This latest action is plainly unconstitutional and will only serve to further distort the market and create a housing affordability crisis,” the lawmakers said. “Additionally, any further restrictions on evictions at this point are counterproductive. The economy is open, jobs and vaccines are abundant, and federal rental assistance is a reality.”
The eviction moratorium expired on July 31, 2021. Despite the recent Supreme Court case, Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, where Justice Kavanaugh stated that “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31,” the Biden administration extended the moratorium in cities with “substantial” spread of COVID-19 until October 3, 2021.
“Instead of pursuing an unconstitutional moratorium, the Biden administration should be focused on distributing the nearly $50 billion in rental assistance that was appropriated through three separate stimulus packages.” the lawmakers said. “As long this moratorium remains in place, property owners will continue to struggle financially. These property owners must still pay mortgages, taxes, and maintenance for the dwelling. If this continues much longer, we will see a wave of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and blighted properties.”
Most states require the tenant to take the initiative when applying for rental assistance. A recent Treasury report found very little of the federal rental assistance money has been disbursed so far, and the new moratorium will act as an additional disincentive for tenants to apply for this aid, leaving property owners on the hook.
“We demand the Biden administration end this moratorium and allow the rental assistance funds to do what they were intended to do. This government overreach must end,” the lawmakers said.
Read the full letter here.
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Yet, it was Johnson’s congress that perverted the market in the first place.
Fix the market before you try to virtue signal, Representative Johnson.
Quit trying to send us out into the ocean with a holy boat.
landlords need to get the deadbeats out of their properties before winter.
otherwise the will default on their own loans and the banks will boot the tenants out