President-elect Biden on January 14 released a $1.9 trillion legislative proposal for a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package. The proposal includes essential resources and protections for America’s lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.
The President-elect called for an extension of the federal eviction moratorium through September 2021; $30 billion in emergency rental and utility assistance; $1,400 stimulus checks; and $5 billion to address the health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness. Additionally, the proposal would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, further expand unemployment benefits, provide a 15% increase to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increase the Child Tax Credit, and more.
These resources and protections are urgently needed and should be enacted as quickly as possible, along with additional resources necessary to ensure housing stability for low-income renters and people experiencing homelessness. In addition to urging Congress to extend the eviction moratorium legislatively, President-elect Biden must on his first day in office issue an executive order to extend, strengthen, and enforce the current federal eviction moratorium, which expires on January 31.
While the provisions included in President-elect Biden’s proposal are vital and should be immediately enacted, Congress must also provide:
- $28 billion for 500,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers to ensure continued housing stability for households with the greatest needs
- Legal aid resources and other renter protections to help renters avoid evictions
- An additional $3 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants to help prevent and respond to outbreaks among people experiencing homelessness and provide stabilization and other needed services
- $44 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to help communities provide homeless individuals currently living in hotels and motels with an exit solution through permanent supportive housing, rather than allowing them to return to homelessness
Read President-elect Biden’s proposal at: https://tinyurl.com/y3zd3zjq
See NLIHC’s top priorities for the next COVID-19 relief package at: https://tinyurl.com/y5xay4gw