Congress is currently working on legislation that includes nearly $40 billion in new funding to help people avoid eviction and foreclosure during the pandemic. The U.S. House’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief package includes:
- $19 billion for additional emergency rental assistance
- $10 billion for homeowner assistance
- $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers
- $5 billion for homelessness assistance
- $100 million for rural housing
- $100 million for housing counseling.
While the $25 billion in emergency rental assistance that Congress approved in the last relief bill should help keep Ohioans in their homes well into the spring, we could be dealing with the economic fallout of this pandemic for some time to come. But the House’s new proposal would provide greater housing stability for the millions of Americans who lost jobs and income and are struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
Please contact your U.S. House and Senate members and urge them to support this bill! Our friends at the National Low Income Housing Coalition have created this quick and easy tool to email your members of Congress and ask them to support the housing relief provisions in the next coronavirus relief bill.
With new leadership in the White House and the Senate, this legislation stands a real chance of passing. Congressional leaders are using the budget reconciliation process that would allow the bill to pass the Senate with a simple majority. But there’s no room for error and the two parties are deeply divided. Congressional leaders are planning to pass the relief package in mid-March, so stay tuned.
