COVID Policy & AdvocacyUpdated February 12, 2021 COVID Relief Bill Moving Quickly in Congress On February 11, the House Financial Services Committee approved $75 billion in economic relief aimed at housing, small businesses and airline workers — $25 billion in emergency rental aid, $10 billion for small business financing and $15 billion to support airline workers. It's just one piece of the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus aid plan Democrats plan to pass in the coming weeks. On February 5, the House Financial Services Committee released its COVID-19 relief bill with $25 billion in rental assistance funding, including $19.05 billion in emergency rental assistance, $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers, $750 million for tribal housing needs, and $100 million for rural housing. The bill also includes $5 billion for homelessness interventions and long-term supports, $9.96 billion for homeowner assistance, and $100 million for housing counseling. The House Education and Labor Committee’s relief bill includes an additional $4.5 billion for utility assistance. If enacted, these investments will help prevent millions of low-income people from losing their homes during the pandemic and will provide cities and states with the resources they need to help people experiencing homelessness be safely housed during and after the pandemic. Biden Administration Extends Eviction and Foreclosure Moratoriums On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to extend the federal eviction moratorium. It also directed federal agencies to extend their COVID-related evictions and foreclosure moratoriums. Federal agencies took these actions:
Treasury Launches $25 Billion Emergency Rental Assistance Program The Department of the Treasury has officially introduced the $25 billion Emergency Rental Assistance Program that was created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Access the web portal and FAQs. Of the total $25 billion Treasury will have access to, $23.875 billion will be dispersed to states and local governments. The minimum amount a state (including the District of Columbia) can receive is $200 million. Allocations to eligible local governments (those with populations of 200,000 or more) will come from that state’s share, capped at 45 percent of the total state allocation. In order to be eligible for assistance, recipients must be renter households earning less than 80 percent of area median income who are either at risk of homelessness or housing instability or have qualified for unemployment insurance, experienced a reduction in income, incurred significant costs, or experienced hardship due to the pandemic. At least 90 percent of allotted funds must be used for the payment of rent and utilities and rent and utility arrears, and the remaining ten percent may be used for housing stability services, including case management, administrative costs, and other services to maintain housing stability. Biden Proposes $1.9 Trillion Relief Package On January 14, 2021 President-elected Biden released his $1.9 trillion legislative proposal for a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package. It includes provisions delivering direct aid to American families, businesses and communities, including essential resources and protections for America’s lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness. President-elect Biden calls for:
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed a relief package that combines a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal as well as a $1.4 trillion FY 2021 omnibus spending bill. The general consensus among advocates is that the bill does what is needed for now. But more work will be necessary early in 2021 to keep communities afloat. The package includes a number of priorities for community development and affordable housing advocates. The package includes:
House Passes HEROES Act — $3 Trillion Relief Package NACEDA strongly supports the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which was passed by the House on May 15. The legislation includes almost $200 billion in additional funding for housing and homelessness programs to help communities respond to the coronavirus. It also includes nearly $1 trillion to state and local governments to avert layoffs and $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers and $1,200 direct payments to individuals. The bill is facing significant opposition in the Senate. These provisions will be of particular interest to the community development sector:
View a one-page summary, a section-by-section summary, and a resource on state and local relief provisions from the House Committee on Appropriations. This NLIHC budget chart compares the HEROES ACT and CARES Act.
CARES Act Stimulus PackageThe initial $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It included significant funding for the community development sector.
NACEDA and our members advocated for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide adequate funds to underserved small businesses and nonprofits. View the NACEDA letter on PPP to Members of Congress. |