Our low-income neighbors need our support. With the first of the month, millions of low-income households are struggling to make ends meet. Millions have lost their jobs or income and when people cannot work, they cannot pay the rent and have challenges feeding their family. In Virginia, in July, about 12,000 eviction cases were pending in Virginia courts, according to the Virginian-Pilot. While it is great that the CDC is declaring a halt to evictions for the rest of the year, emergency rental assistance is still needed for both renters and small landlords.
There appears to be some bipartisan support in Congress to provide emergency rental assistance and increases in SNAP assistance. This will help renters avoid an eviction "cliff" later this year, support small landlords who still face bills. Meanwhile, families need to buy groceries. But the White House is stalling, we must remind policymakers that families cannot wait - we need another relief package NOW and for emergency rental assistance and increase to SNAP funding to be a priority.
It's time for Congress and President Trump to resume negotiations now and enact a robust COVID-19 deal that includes $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and a 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits. The citizens of Virginia believe that a “society is defined by how it treats the weakest among us” and we hope that our Representative believe the same. Call your legislator and ask them to support low-income renters.
Nancy R Morgan
Alexandria