U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, led 30 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump urging him to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to enact legislation that provides the emergency assistance and protections renters need to stay in their homes. Millions of children and youth are at risk of being evicted from their homes due to the Trump administration’s refusal to support critical rental assistance and relief measures to protect their health and well-being during this pandemic.
“Even before the pandemic, a quarter of all renters were spending half their incomes on housing, and more than 20 million children lived in households that struggled to afford housing,” wrote the senators. “This pandemic is not only revealing the inequities in our society, but exacerbating them. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that nearly 1-in-5 renters were behind on rent in July. This hardship fell more heavily on Black and brown renters and families with children, among whom more than 1-in-4 had fallen behind on rent.”
Along with Brown, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Gary Peters (D-MI).
In May, Brown applauded the House of Representatives for its Heroes Act, which includes Senator Brown’s rental assistance bill and several key priorities and much-needed relief for Ohio workers, small businesses, and communities. The Heroes Act would provide financial assistance for state and local governments, essential workers, testing and contact tracing efforts, direct cash payments, worker safety provisions, housing assistance, small business relief, and more. Brown has repeatedly called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the Senate back from recess so Congress can do its job and pass a COVID-19 relief bill.
