Yesterday, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to President Biden calling on Congress to extend the unconstitutional eviction moratorium:
“This is a full-scale failure by the Biden Administration that Republicans have been trying to address for months,” said Congressman McHenry. “Now, we are three days away from the end of the CDC’s unconstitutional eviction moratorium, and what is President Biden’s solution? Blame the Court and call on Congress to fix it. This is absurd.
“When we make a promise to renters, it is our duty to honor it, which is why I sent a letter to Secretary Yellen in May demanding answers on the status of why these rental assistance dollars weren’t out the door. And when she refused to provide answers, I along with all the Republican Members of the Financial Services Committee then introduced the Renter Protection Act in June to get these dollars in the hands of COVID-impacted renters immediately. In fact, this was two weeks before the Supreme Court ruled on the eviction moratorium.
“Congress could have addressed this preventable problem a month ago by taking up Committee Republicans’ bill. Instead, Democrats hemmed and hawed over their partisan priorities. Now, after months of silence on the issue, the White House offers up a press release that will do absolutely nothing to help renters in need. This Administration is squarely to blame for any American family that loses their home due to the gross mismanagement of the Emergency Rental Assistance programs.”
Background: On May 18, 2021, Congressman McHenry sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen asking for data on how much ERA money has reached renters and landlords.
At a June 9, 2021 hearing on housing issues McHenry called out the Biden Administration for their gross mismanagement of the ERA programs.
On June 15, 2021 McHenry sent a letter to the GAO asking them to audit the ERA programs.
On June 16, 2021 McHenry led all Committee Republicans in introducing H.R. 3913, the Renter Protection Act, to fix the Biden Administration’s mismanagement of the ERA programs, get the money out the door quickly, and keep Americans in their homes.
On June 25, 2021, Congressman McHenry and Congressman French Hill (AR-02), the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance, released a statement denouncing the Biden Administration’s shortsighted extension of the eviction moratorium and calling for consideration of Republicans’ Renter Protection Act.
On July 13, 2021, Republican Leader McHenry sent a letter to Chairwoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) demanding that Secretary Yellen testify alongside HUD Secretary Fudge to answer for the mismanagement of the ERA programs and calling for the Committee to consider Republicans’ Renter Protection Act at the next markup.
At a July 20, 2021 hearing with Secretary Fudge, Republican Leader McHenry hammered the administration for their inability to answer basic questions about the status of the ERA programs.
On July 28, 2021, Republican Leader McHenry joined other top Republicans in a letter blasting Secretary Yellen for skirting congressional oversight of the ERA programs and refusing to testify before Congress.
