Federal Lawmakers Push for Eviction Moratorium

Chris Lisinski
State House News Service

A group of representatives and senators in Congress are pushing the Trump administration to halt evictions during the coronavirus outbreak.

Representatives Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Katie Porter of California and Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont penned a letter Tuesday to the Department of Housing and Urban Development urging a moratorium on evicting anyone in HUD-assisted rental housing, public housing or those who receive Housing Choice Vouchers. Pressley and the senators also asked landlord trade associations to halt evicting their tenants.

“Evicting families puts their health at risk, imposes trauma on and disrupts the education of their children, and exacerbates the risk of outbreak in their communities,” they wrote to landlords. State lawmakers last week filed legislation that would pause evictions and foreclosures until Gov. Charlie Baker rescinds the state of emergency.