WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will announce a new 60-day eviction moratorium that would protect areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives.
That's according to three people familiar with the plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the forthcoming announcement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a legal authority for a new and different moratorium that would be for areas with high and substantial increases in COVID-19 infections.
The ban helps to heal a rift with liberal Democratic lawmakers who were calling on executive action to keep renters in their homes after a prior moratorium lapsed at the end of July.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement saying in part that he urges the Biden administration "to do all they can to pressure states" to get federal emergency rental assistance funds "to the people who need it most."
"For anyone to lose their home through no fault of their own is devastating, and it's shameful that Republicans in Congress aren't lifting a finger to help prevent it from happening," Schumer said.
According to the Associated Press, previously administration officials said they were stopped from setting up a new moratorium by a Supreme Court ruling due to no backing from Congress.
The administration added that states and local officials "must be more aggressive in releasing nearly $47 billion in relief for renters on the verge of eviction," the AP reported.
The new policy comes as the Biden administration tried to find ways to stop evictions from happening.
