The House Financial Services Committee, led by Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA), was busy during the month of June holding multiple virtual and hybrid hearings on a variety of topics. Between June 3 and June 25, six separate hearings were held. The full list, with links to videos of the hearings, can be found on the Financial Services Committee website.
On June 10, the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing titled “The Rent Is Still Due: America’s Renters, COVID-19, and an Unprecedented Eviction Crisis.”
Subcommittee Chair William Lacy Clay (D-MO) opened the hearing with comments highlighting the challenges facing low-income people of color, and how that has been significantly exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19. He emphasized that additional assistance is necessary, such as the House-passed HEROES Act and the $100 billion for emergency rental assistance included in that bill.
Ranking Member Steve Stivers (R-OH) opening comments highlighted the bipartisan CARES Act and recognized the issues of racial injustice and the ongoing needs across the country. He did note, however, that except for discrimination in housing and homeownership, the Judiciary Committee has primary jurisdiction over civil rights issues.
Full committee Chair Waters also made a short opening comment, highlighting the ‘dire need for rental relief’ and the $100 Billion Emergency Rental assistance included in the HEROES Act.
Witnesses providing testimony were Cashauna Hill, Executive Director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center (LAFAC); Mike Kingsella, Executive Director, Up For Growth; Ann Oliva, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities; and Jenny Schuetz, Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
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