Congress in longshot bid to extend expiring eviction ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hours before a nationwide eviction moratorium is set to expire, Congress raced Friday to try to extend the ban in a longshot effort to prevent millions of Americans of being forced from their homes during a COVID-19 surge.

A House panel convened to consider emergency legislation to extend the ban, which expires Saturday, through Dec. 31. But approving an extension would be a steep climb in the narrowly-split Congress.

More than 3.6 million Americans are at risk of eviction, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi implored colleagues to act, calling it a “moral imperative" to not only protect renters but also the landlords who are owed compensation.

Congress must "meet the needs of the American people: both the families unable to make rent and those to whom the rent is to be paid,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues.

President Joe Biden announced Thursday the administration would allow the ban on evictions to expire. The White House argued its hands are tied after the Supreme Court signaled the moratorium would only be extended until the end of the month.

Not all lawmakers are on board with an extension, and the House is preparing to leave Friday for a scheduled recess. The Senate is also considering emergency legislation but passage in the 50-50 may be even more difficult.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the Financial Services chairman who authored the emergency bill, urged her colleagues to act.

“Is it emergency enough that you're going to stop families from being put on the street?" Waters said as the Rules committee met to consider the bill. “What the hell is going to happen to these children?”

But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, of Washington, the top Republican on another panel handling the issue, said the Democrats' bill was rushed.

“This is not the way...