AOC says Biden, Tory Democrats to blame for resumption of evictions

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Overnight, millions of Americans ran the risk of eviction as a pause in evictions protecting Americans from the loss of their homes lapsed, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y .) says this is because the White House is not “outspoken” and moderate Democrats in Congress who have refused to support an extension of the deportation ban.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Ocasio-Cortez said the White House was not “outspoken” when it waited two days before the expiration of the expulsion moratorium to announce it was counting. on Congress to pass legislation extending the deadline. Congress then adjourned Friday without extending the deadline, which expired at midnight Sunday.

Ocasio-Cortez has argued for the extension since a Supreme Court opinion at the end of June appeared to tie the hands of the White House, saying Congress must pass legislation to push the deadline beyond July 31. So far, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D -Calif.) Has tried to blame Republicans for the failure to approve an extension, but Ocasio-Cortez said, “We really need to call a spade a spade. We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when the House Democrats have a majority. “

The congresswoman explained, saying, “The House and House leaders were given an opportunity to vote to extend the moratorium … There were, frankly, a handful of conservative Democrats in the House who threatened to take over. plane, rather than holding this vote. “

@jaketapper from CNN: Who’s to blame for the expiration of the moratorium on evictions?

Rep @AOC: “Frankly, a handful of conservative Democrats in the House threatened to get on the plane rather than hold this vote and we really have to call a spade a spade.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/FXW7o1SIOD

– State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 1, 2021

She also called out the Biden administration for its lack of transparency, which she said has put Congress in a bind. “We asked the Biden administration for its position, and they weren’t really forthright about this plea and this request until the day before the House adjourned,” she said. “The house has been put in an unnecessarily difficult situation. “

Ocasio-Cortez spent the weekend in DC, where Reps Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) And Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) Slept on the steps of the Capitol during the Friday night to protest the House lack of action.

“The House is in recess. People are on vacation, ”Bush said in an interview with CNN on Saturday. “How are we on vacation when we have millions of people who may start being deported tonight?” “

The House still has time to act and pass a bill extending the deportation ban, although pushing this legislation through the Senate, where Democrats have a very narrow majority, could be more difficult than pass it in the House. Ocasio-Cortez said on Sunday that House members were told they may need to return to Capitol Hill on just 24 hours’ notice as the Senate is working on an infrastructure bill so that they could also be recalled to extend the moratorium on evictions.

“The House should meet again and call this vote and extend the moratorium. There are around 11 million people who are behind on their rent, threatened with eviction. That’s one in six tenants in the United States, ”she said.

Another issue affecting tenants is the fact that although Congress has allocated tens of billions of dollars in rent assistance for tenants and landlords, states and local governments have yet to distribute the vast majority. funds – only $ 3 billion out of $ 46 billion has been disbursed. .

“Each governor is responsible for setting up these programs,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I think in some states the governors and state administrations could slow down this process to get it out. In other states, [it’s] the administrative burden of its implementation.

But until that money is available to tenants and landlords, the MP said, it is wrong to start removing people from their homes. “We are at a point where, frankly, state governments have to come to an agreement,” she said. “But we cannot kick people out of their homes when our end of the bargain has not been met.”

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