Politicians have battled back and forth over whether to extend the federal pandemic-era eviction moratoriums that were set to expire this week, and Tuesday, the CDC issued a specific extension for areas of the country where COVID is again running rampant.
But questions remain as to whether the CDC has legal standing to extend the moratorium at all, and President Joe Biden has said the Supreme Court was clear that any new extension must come from Congress, not the executive branch of the government.
However, Guy Williams, president of Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, told Newell Normand on WWL Radio that there wouldn’t be a need for any type of moratorium extension if the money that’s already been allocated to help both tenants and landlords would just get spent.
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“Congress passed rental relief, and only 20% of the money has been distributed,” Williams said. “So rather than distributing and using the money they’ve already approved, they’re complaining and saying we need to extend the moratorium, which hurts landlords and ultimately really affects people’s credit and causes a lot of problems.
"It’s distressing to me that instead of actually spending money they’ve allocated and pressuring the states, including ours, to do a better job of using the rental assistance, we’re asking for a new bill."
Williams concurs with the Supreme Court that President Biden’s hands are tied in the matter, but he says the government is doing a disservice to its constituents by not paying out the funds earmarked for assistance. The edict by the CDC is already being challenged by a coalition of realtor and housing groups in court.
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