CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Ayanna Pressley

Interview

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NOBLES: Millions of Americans could potentially be homeless within days after the House failed to reach a deal to extend a ban on evictions. The C.D.C. order which prevents landlords from evicting renters for failing to pay their rent expires at midnight.

In a last ditch effort to get their colleagues to vote to extend the moratorium, some Democratic lawmakers slept on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last night. One of those lawmakers Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts joins me now.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. You know, just tell us about the experience last night and then what you hope to achieve by making this kind of show of force with those who you are concerned maybe evicted from their homes?

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): Well, I think the point here, Ryan, is that many families are on the precipice of devastation, and the fact of the matter is that families are running out of options, but government has many still on the table that have not yet been exhausted.

Pre-pandemic, there were 6.7 -- 3.7 million eviction filings. So, there are already so many families that were vulnerable and that has only been exacerbated by this pandemic-induced recession. And so, we have three options remaining.

The Senate is still in session and they can act and extend this eviction moratorium. Secondly, the House can reconvene and we can pass Chairwoman Waters' emergency bill to extend the eviction moratorium. And finally, the White House and the C.D.C. can act. The reason why we are here and why we came last night is because we

want to affirm that we are one human family and that our destinies are tied. And eviction is a policy choice. And the fact that we fail to act, not out of an inability to do something to stave off this crisis, a national tent city, an eviction tsunami. It was an unwillingness.

I agree with Chairwoman Waters, the author of the emergency bill -- I serve on Financial Services Committee -- we should have fought harder. So again, families are running out of options, but we still have many available on the table, and we need to exhaust every single one of them.

We're talking about projections of anywhere from seven to 11 million people -- people -- who could be evicted, and still in the midst of a pandemic, while the variant is surging. Eviction is already violent, but to evict people in the midst of a pandemic is cruel, inhumane, unacceptable, and 100 percent preventable.

NOBLES: So, Congresswoman, you mentioned that you believe the C.D.C. should extend the moratorium. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the same thing. The White House disagrees. Their legal team says that's not an option because of a Supreme Court decision last month.

Do you disagree with the White House legal team? And do you think the President has done enough to try and prevent this crisis from happening with, you know, very little time left to go?

PRESSLEY: We absolutely should have received word from the White House much earlier than we did. We simply ran out of time. There is still time, though to right this wrong. I do believe that the White House and the C.D.C. can act, should act unilaterally. And if we are challenged by the courts, that will still buy these families time and that is what we need.

The other reason why we need to extend this eviction moratorium is because, yes, the states have the money and they need time. They still need time to get these funds out. So, since January, I have been with my progressive colleagues, organizing, lobbying, writing bills, lobbying the White House.

Just weeks ago, I led the letter with progressive colleagues to extend the eviction moratorium by that additional month, and then again, we heard very late that the White House would not be extending that eviction moratorium, and Congress was not given the time needed really to act.

And I agree with Speaker Pelosi that a failure to act to extend the eviction moratorium is a moral imperative and the fact that we did not do that is a moral failing. It was a moral imperative to act, to disrupt and prevent this crisis and it is a moral failing that we did not act.

NOBLES: So, you tweeted recently that you said quote, "Eviction is a policy choice," and a violent one at that. And the indifference by many is heartbreaking. You know, I know many of your fellow progressives believe that it's your movement that led to Democrats controlling the House and Senate and maybe even putting Joe Biden in the White House.

Do you feel that it is your party, the Democratic Party that right now is failing the very people that they promised to protect in this last election?

[18:25:23]

PRESSLEY: I absolutely believe that in this moment, yes, we are failing the American people and the most vulnerable. Eviction is a policy choice. We can disrupt this eviction tsunami. We can prevent this national tent city, this public health crisis.

Our families have already experienced unprecedented hardship. We should not be evicting anyone. Housing is a human right that we certainly should not be doing that in the midst of a pandemic, and we have tools available to stop it.

There is not a deficit of resource or opportunity or tools, I do believe there's a deficit of empathy. And that is across both aisles. And that's what we're here for today. That's why I slept here last night. Was it uncomfortable?

Absolutely. But nowhere near as uncomfortable as the families right now who are in limbo, who don't -- who are wondering how they will -- how they will survive, who are living in real fear, who are looking to us to intervene and to stand in the gap, and we still have time.

So, the Senate is still in session. They can they can extend this eviction moratorium. By midnight, the White House and the C.D.C. can act unilaterally or the House can be called back into session so that we can pass the emergency bill offered by Chairwoman Waters to extend this eviction moratorium.

Again, the American people have run out of options, but those of us in positions of leadership and power, we have not and we must act and we must act urgently. And we have to meet the needs of this multiracial, multi-generational movement of the most marginalized who made this Democratic majority possible.

This is the moment. We must meet the moment and meet the needs of the most marginalized, a movement of people who made this Democratic majority possible. This is about us being responsive to the most basic needs of the human family in the midst of unprecedented hurt, and so that's why we're out here.

NOBLES: Okay, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, as this deadline looms, you spent the night outside the Capitol trying to impress upon leaders in Washington to take action. We so much appreciate your time, Congresswoman, and we'll have to see. This deadline is fast approaching. We'll see if anyone, if that -- if the will, as you mentioned it is there to take the responsibility needed.

All right. Thank you, Congresswoman.

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