Thousands in Missouri may be evicted as moratorium expires
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The national eviction moratorium, which prevented landlords from evicting tenants during the pandemic, expires at midnight Saturday.
The eviction moratorium was originally put into place by the Centers for Disease Control in March of 2020 as part of the CARES Act.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the CDC was overstepping by trying to extend the eviction ban. This left only the two ruling bodies of the U.S. Congress with the power to extend the moratorium.
On Friday, Congress failed to pass legislation that would extend the ban on evictions. They did not come to a decision before they adjourned for their August recess, leaving the moratorium to expire.
"The administration is going to work together with leaders in congress on potential avenues to extend the eviction moratorium to protect these vulnerable renters and their families," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press conference.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there wasn't enough time from when President Biden announced Thursday the administration would allow the moratorium to expire.
"When it comes to the technicalities of legislation we just ran out of time," Pelosi told press.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows 67,868 Missourians could likely face eviction when the moratorium expires. Missouri is among the worst states for home insecurity. The Associated Press reported 13,000 eviction notices had already been filed in Kansas City and St. Louis.
In most Missouri counties, court-ordered eviction notices are enforced by the sheriff's department.
"Prior to the eviction order being issued there is a hearing that all parties have the ability to present their case before the court, so we will often serve that paperwork ahead of time to provide notice of the hearing date/time if that paperwork is sent out to us for service," the Boone County Sheriff's Office said in an email.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) spent the night on the steps of the U.S. Capital to show her colleagues how passionate she is about extending the moratorium.
"This is our way of saying 'hey house leadership, reconvene us, we're still here, do something, we can't take vacation right now.'" Bush said in an interview with CNN.
Throughout the night and day, Bush was joined by other politicians supporting her cause.
"When we signed up to be in congress we said that we would serve and we would represent every single person in our district regardless of their socio-economic status," Bush said.
