Pelosi and Yellen to Discuss Rental Assistance as Eviction Crisis Looms

Politics|Yellen and Pelosi sermon rental assistance arsenic an eviction situation looms and Democrats request answers.

• Aug. 3, 2021, 10:38 a.m. ET

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen briefed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats connected Tuesday greeting astir the struggling exigency rental assistance program arsenic the Biden medication scrambles to support radical successful their homes pursuing the expiration of a impermanent eviction moratorium.

The gathering came arsenic the White House faced an uproar from progressive Democrats, who responsibility the medication for not uncovering a mode to widen the eviction prohibition that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed past autumn arsenic a Covid-19 alleviation measure.

Ms. Pelosi, for her part, has been trying adjacent the spread betwixt Democratic progressives and a radical of astir a twelve moderates successful her caucus who blocked efforts to walk a measure past week that would person extended the frost done the extremity of the year.

At a White House gathering with President Biden connected Friday, Ms. Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the bulk leader, bluntly informed Mr. Biden they did not person the votes to walk an hold — and pressed him to instrumentality immoderate enactment helium could utilizing his enforcement power, according to 2 Democratic legislature aides briefed connected the meeting.

The Biden medication has said that it lacks the ineligible authority to widen the moratorium and has called connected Congress to find a legislative solution. On Monday, the medication called connected states to ramp up their efforts to supply much national assistance to struggling renters — portion issuing a hopeless plea for localities to widen their ain section moratoriums.

In a missive to colleagues connected Tuesday, Ms. Pelosi said she would sermon with Ms. Yellen however to expedite the disbursement of the $46.5 cardinal that Congress allocated to support radical successful their homes.

“I americium pleased that accelerating rental assistance is simply a stated precedence of the administration,” Ms. Pelosi said.

But elder Democrats person been pushing the White House to bash more.

“I privation that the president, the C.D.C. would person gone guardant and extended the moratorium,” Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California who is chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, said successful an interview with The New York Times connected Monday. “They person the powerfulness to bash that. I deliberation helium should person gone successful and helium should person done it, and fto the chips autumn wherever they may.”

With the moratorium successful limbo, Ms. Yellen is nether added unit to marque the rental assistance wealth flow. Only astir $3 cardinal of the $46 cardinal had been delivered to eligible households done June, according to Treasury Department data.