‘Arbitrary and cruel’: Democrats excoriate Supreme Court decision on eviction moratorium
Democratic lawmakerson Friday denounced the Supreme Court’s decision that blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from allowing renters to stay in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the decision “arbitrary and cruel” in a statement Friday.“The Court’s decision to block the new CDC eviction moratorium is immoral, putting families at risk of being put on the streets, and it is a serious public health threat, as the delta variant continues,” she said.In an unsigned opinion, six justices sided with a group representing landlords, who had argued that the CDC had no authority to impose such a restriction on its own.”It would be one thing if Congress had specifically authorized the action that the CDC has taken. But that has not happened,” the court wrote. “Instead, the CDC has imposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions in reliance on a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination.”The current moratorium, which was imposed in early August, had been due to expire in early October.Pelosi said that lawmakers will focus on ensuring that the billions in emergency rental assistance passed by Congress make it to needy families.“Time is of the essence,”
