Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020
Floor Speech
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1017, I call up the bill (H.R. 7301) to prevent evictions, foreclosures, and unsafe housing conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Ms. WATERS. 7301 and to insert extraneous material thereon.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7301, the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020.
This bill includes several provisions that were included in the HEROES Act and independently led by a number of members of the Financial Services Committee. Some people hearing this bill won't understand what we are attempting to do here today. As I said, this was a part of the HEROES Act that passed this House, but we have been waiting on the Senate to take up the HEROES Act. They are not taking it up. They don't seem to care. They don't seem to understand that there are people out there who are going to be evicted, and so, we have pulled it out of the HEROES Act, and we are taking it up independently so that we can send a message to the Senate that we want this measure heard.
So, we have a number of Members who have participated in putting this legislation together and who had independent bills to do so. That includes Representatives Lacy Clay, Denny Heck, David Scott, Chuy Garcia, Cindy Axne, Nydia Velazquez, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, and Al Green.
Mr. Speaker, America was facing an affordable housing crisis before this pandemic hit. With so many families struggling as a result of the pandemic, we are now on the precipice of an eviction and a homeless crisis like we have never seen in our lifetime.
We can't wait any longer. We have got to move. The CARES Act was an important step towards providing relief, but more help is needed. We knew, for example, that an eviction moratorium without the provision of rental assistance would only delay disastrous outcomes as families would have to pay more than they could afford, a lump sum of 3 to 4 months of unpaid rent at the expiration of the moratorium.
This House followed through on providing several additional and targeted housing solutions when it passed the HEROES Act. Unfortunately, in the 45 days since the HEROES Act passed, there has been no action taken by either our Republican colleagues in the Senate or the Trump administration. This is simply unacceptable.
As a matter of fact, someone said this morning, and I repeat, we have not heard one word, not one peep from this administration about rental assistance.
We saw in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis what the consequences are when Congress acts too slowly: 10 million foreclosures, almost $17 trillion in household wealth lost, increases in rates of homelessness all across the country. And we saw how communities of color were disproportionately hit with foreclosures and a corresponding loss of wealth after they had been targeted with predatory mortgage products.
Today, there are over 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and over 125,000 Americans have died. The Centers for Disease Control reported that as of June 20, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are highest among Native, Black, and Latinx Americans. We also know that people of color account for the largest portion of the essential workers, have a higher incidence of preexisting health conditions, and that with these preexisting health conditions they have, they have limited access to healthcare, and have fewer opportunities to isolate because they cannot work from home.
But I must emphasize that this pandemic did not create such disparities, it only exacerbated them, and I hope this pandemic has finally drawn widespread public attention to all of these disparities.
Congress cannot fail again to quickly act as we did in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. Since passage of the HEROES Act, our Nation's renters and homeowners have experienced renewed pressures.
When June rent came due, one in three renters were unable to fully pay their rent.
On June 14, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the number of homeowners in forbearance reached 4.2 million.
Since passage of the HEROES Act, we have now experienced record days of both new positive coronavirus tests, including in Texas, Florida, Georgia and my State of California.
And since the HEROES Act passed, over 11 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. There are now only 25 days left before the Federal eviction ban expires on July 25. When it does, many families who have been unable to pay their rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic will face eviction and the devastating consequences that evictions have on families, particularly children.
Our committee heard testimony in January from one gentleman about what it was like when all of his belongings were put out on the sidewalk and he and his children were forced out of their home. He told us how he fell behind on rent while trying to obtain training for a higher paying job and how the sheriff banged on his door one morning while his 9-year-old son was getting ready for school. He described how he and his wife watched as all of their personal belongings were thrown on to the front lawn, including items with sentimental value like their wedding photos. He said, ``I remember the feeling that I'd failed. Failed as a husband and as a father to provide a place for my family.''
Several landlords declined his rental applications after charging a nonreimbursable application fee, likely because they saw the eviction on his record, and he and his family stayed at motels that were even more costly than paying rent.
Maya Angelou once wrote that: ``Home is a refuge not only from the world, but a refuge from my worries, my troubles, my concerns.'' And we know all too well what happens to families, and especially children, when their homes are forcibly taken from them.
We cannot sit idly by. We must understand that an eviction can disrupt every aspect of a family's life, putting them at greater risk of job loss, homelessness, and gaps or other disruptions to a child's education.
Housing instability can be particularly traumatic for young children and can have lifelong impacts. Studies show that children who avoid eviction due to a long-term housing subsidy have better educational achievement, obtain higher paying jobs as adults, and are less likely to become incarcerated. Many families with evictions on their records cannot find another home and fall into homelessness.
So, again, we cannot sit idly by and let this eviction crisis cause irreparable harm to millions of families around the country. The bill before us today pulls out the key housing protection and relief provisions from the HEROES Act.
Specifically, let me tell what you the bill does. It provides $100 billion for an emergency rental assistance fund and $75 billion for a homeowners' assistance fund to ensure renters and homeowners can cover their housing expenses, including rent, mortgage payments, and utility bills.
It extends and expands the eviction and foreclosure moratoria for all renters and homeowners, as well as provides additional forbearance relief.
It provides $18 billion in funding for homeless assistance and other Federal housing assistance programs to ensure rents remain affordable and housing is maintained in a safe and decent condition.
It creates a lending facility for mortgage servicers and rental property owners to help them finance their obligations and shortfalls in rent.
It ensures robust, fair housing enforcement and housing counseling to protect all renters and homeowners.
What happens next is up to us. Each of us in this Chamber knows the value of a place where we and our family come together, share a meal, and safely rest our heads. We also know that households of color still have not fully recovered from the 2008 crisis, and we know that they will continue to be disproportionately impacted if the pandemic causes the housing crisis to worsen.
I, for one, refuse to do nothing while families suffer. This is an emergency, and it calls for the emergency response provided by this legislation.
We can't wait. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) had an opportunity when this bill went through the House. It is over on the Senate side. If the Republicans want to do more negotiation, they know they have to take it up over there.
I don't care how we get it, with this bill or with the one over there.
Maloney), the senior member of the Financial Services Committee and chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7301, the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act.
Through no fault of their own, New Yorkers and Americans across this country are struggling to pay their rent or make mortgage payments. Even worse, people experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence have seen their limited options for safety and shelter dwindle due to the pandemic's impact on social services.
The bill is a bold and necessary step toward providing economic and housing relief for millions of Americans.
It expands the eviction moratorium to protect all renters and the foreclosure moratorium to protect all homeowners. It creates a $100 billion emergency rental assistance fund and provides nearly $13 billion targeted money for homeless grants, housing choice vouchers for people experiencing homelessness, and survivors of domestic violence.
Nobody should lose sleep about how they are going to keep a roof over their head while they are suffering through a pandemic.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this necessary and important bill.
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind all Members and the gentleman that Republicans don't care about debt as long as they are doing the spending; it is only when Democrats are helping Americans, even in a time of crisis. Remember, it was the President of the United States, Trump, who said he likes debt. I quote him. He said he likes debt.
Velazquez), the senior member of the Financial Services Committee and chair of the Committee on Small Business.
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I say to ladies and gentlemen on the floor and people all across this Nation: If you listened to my Republican friends, you would think we are not in a crisis. We are in a terrible crisis.
Just think, 42 million Americans that had jobs just 14 weeks ago no longer have those jobs. Their homes are on the verge of being foreclosed. They need our help.
Yes, the gentleman from Michigan is right. We did pass this bill in the HEROES Act, but the Republican leader over there says: Let's pause.
This is the wrong time for this Nation to pause. This is a crisis.
And let me tell the gentleman something. It is a crisis in terms of health, but it is also a crisis in terms of our great economy going down and the great pillars of our economy: our homeownership, real estate values, and the security of our banking system. That is what is at stake here.
So it makes sense for us to move. With 42 million Americans no longer working, they are not going to be able to pay for their mortgages. They are not going to be able to keep their water on, the electricity on, the utilities. They are coming due already.
So I want to say to the gentleman that, when Senator McConnell says ``put a pause on it,'' this Nation stands in horror when we see this epidemic already creating 42 million jobless people, but now burdening us with the revival of an additional thrust of this pandemic.
Nothing is more important than showing the American people we care about them. And we can't tell them to keep in their homes if they don't have a home, I urge my Republican friends.
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I have yielded to the gentleman extra time. His time has expired. Parliamentary Inquiry
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Ms. WATERS. Pressley), a member of the Financial Services Committee.
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Ms. WATERS. Bonamici), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire, if I may, how much time do I have remaining?
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Ms. WATERS. Pelosi), who is the distinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Speaker, I come from a family of 13 children. We were poor. We lived in inadequate housing. It was cold in the wintertime, and the pipes froze on the inside of our house. In the summertime, it was too hot to be in the house. We sat on the stoop through the wee hours of the morning, trying to stay cool. But it was home.
I worried that we were going to be evicted, but my mother managed to put together the money, and we never got evicted. But my neighbors and my friends, I saw evicted. Maybe my friends on the opposite side of the aisle have never seen this. They don't understand this.
I have my friend from Michigan talking about a family that makes $131,000 per year. The Members of Congress make $175,000 a year, and we have Members of Congress who sleep free in this place, don't pay any rent when they are in Washington, D.C., and you have the audacity to come here and talk about denying assistance to people who are at the worst part of their lives to be evicted.
No, I do not yield. This is an emergency. The hospitals are filling up. Children are hungry. People have lost their jobs.
This is about whether or not people are going to have a place to lay their heads. This is about whether or not families are going to stay together. We have hospitals where the ICU rooms are all filled, and these people may be sick and not have a place to go home to.
So, I am not about to wait. Yes, he mocked us when we said we can't wait any longer. No, we cannot wait any longer.
Mr. Speaker, this is why I am in the Congress of the United States of America. This is why I came, for moments like this, to speak for the least of these, to speak for the poorest families in America, to speak for families when they need help.
This is an emergency. Our families need help, and I cannot wait. You should not wait.
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.
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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by my Republican colleague to H.R. 7301.
Mr. Speaker, the amendment before us does nothing to bring relief to struggling families. The amendment would deny millions of families, including children, assistance during a crisis because someone in their family is here without proper documentation. Racism, anti-immigrant policies hurt children the most.
We are on the precipice of a housing crisis not seen since the Great Depression, a crisis that threatens to strip countless families of a home at a time when they are being asked to stay home. The House must take emergency action to respond and pass emergency legislation.
Over the weekend, States across the country, including my home of California, experienced the highest levels of infection since the pandemic began.
On Sunday, Texas reported more than 5,000 cases for the sixth day in a row. Shortly after passage of the HEROES Act in May, Texas had 1,791 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds; yesterday, there were 5,500.
In California, hospitalizations have now increased by 32 percent, while ICUs have gone up 19 percent over the past 14 days.
These trends are similar in Arizona, Georgia, and Florida, and many of these States are halting their plans to reopen the economy. On Friday, Texas closed down bars across the State and on Saturday warned residents in San Antonio and Bexar County that local hospitals were approaching capacity.
Where exactly are COVID-19 patients expected to isolate when the hospitals fill up? We are not through with this pandemic, and recent trends suggest it is getting worse.
Six weeks ago, this Chamber passed the HEROES Act, but the Republican-led Senate and Trump administration have done nothing to advance the bill. This is totally unacceptable.
Fully one-third of renters were unable to pay their rent in June, and at least 4.2 million homeowners are now in forbearance. And we know evictions are already on the rise.
In North Carolina, 9,000 eviction cases have been filed since this moratorium expired last week.
In Columbus, Ohio, eviction hearings are taking place in a convention center to accommodate the number of cases and comply with social distancing guidelines.
In Tennessee, more than 9,000 eviction cases are pending in one county alone.
The Michigan State Court Administrative Office estimates 75,000 evictions will be filed when its moratorium ends this month.
I would like to share one story about someone this bill seeks to help. Deanna Brooks, a Navy veteran from Dallas, Texas, lost her job because of the pandemic. However, because her former employer was unresponsive, she had trouble collecting the needed documentation to collect unemployment or other assistance and was unable to pay rent, so her landlord filed for her to be evicted.
She has no friends or family she can move in with and has been in and out of the hospital because she has a heart condition. She said: ``I'm scared. They'll throw everything I have outside on the street. I have nowhere to go.''
In Delaware, Rhiannon Clark and her fiance were unable to pay their rent after Clark, who was a bartender, lost her job and her fiance fell ill with COVID-19 and couldn't go to work. Eventually, Clark and one of her two children also came down with the illness. Now her family faces eviction, even as they recover from COVID-19.
Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, rent and mortgages are due for millions of families. These are two stories. They are sad stories. I fear that this is going to be repeated a million times over if Congress fails to act.
And so here we are, Members of Congress. We are comfortable. We can afford to pay our rent. We have millionaires in Congress. They can afford to pay the rent of a whole lot of people if they wanted to. And they are going to go home to their families. They are going to be safe, and they are going to be secure. And while they are in Washington, they don't pay any rent, many of them. They sleep in their offices at night. And yet they are talking about denying people rent who don't have another dime.
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