Biden asks Congress to extend eviction moratorium 'without delay' as expiration looms

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden made an urgent plea Thursday for Congress to extend a nationwide moratorium on evictions, arguing a Supreme Court ruling had left him unable to act on his own.

The eviction freeze, which is set to expire on Saturday, was put in place last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect Americans who have fallen behind on their rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden extended the moratorium through the end of July; he would have “strongly supported” another extension, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday, particularly as the delta variant drives a spike in new COVID-19 infections. She said the president is concerned the uptick in cases is hitting Americans who are most likely to face evictions and lack vaccinations the hardest.

“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available,” Psaki said.

A house divided: As millions of Americans face evictions, others buy dream homes during COVID-19

In a 5-4 ruling last month, the Supreme Court allowed the moratorium to remain in place through July 31 over the objections of landlords, realtors and other groups.

Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, said he believed the CDC had exceed its authority, but would vote to keep the moratorium in place because the agency had signaled it would end the freeze in “only a few weeks.” But Kavanaugh made it clear he would block any future extensions unless there was “clear and specific congressional authorization.”

"In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the president calls on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay," Psaki said.

Housing advocates and other groups warned that ending the nationwide ban would leave millions of Americans at risk of eviction and lead to a huge spike in homelessness.

“These rollbacks of lifesaving protections are premature and will lead to the worst eviction crisis in U.S. history,” said Jaboa Lake, senior policy analyst with the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy group based in Washington.

By the end of March, 6.4 million American households were behind on their rent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As of July 5, roughly 3.6 million people in the U.S. said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

“We are still in the middle of a pandemic, and many communities have not even begun to recover," Lake said. “The federal government has shown that it can take swift action to prevent evictions, and it must continue to provide these protections. In this moment, we have seen that housing truly is health care, and keeping people housed saves lives.”

The White House said it has asked the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs to extend their respective eviction freezes through the end of September, which will provide continued protection for households living in federally insured, single-family properties.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Record high rents: Students struggle to find affordable housing in college towns

To the rescue: A historic housing crisis has America in its grip. Can Marcia Fudge save the day?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden asks Congress to extend eviction moratorium 'without delay'