Courtney Statement on President Biden’s Extension of Eviction Moratorium

NORWICH, CT—Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) made the following statement after President Joe Biden moved to extend the eviction moratorium.

"President Biden's move to extend the eviction moratorium is a surgical order that targets regions with high COVID infection rates," said Rep. Courtney. "It's a smart move—a wave of pandemic-driven evictions just as we're working to respond to the delta variant would really slow down our strong recovery. Yesterday, I had a conference call with the Connecticut Department of Housing and UniteCT to catch up on their efforts to get more of the rental assistance we authorized in the American Rescue Plan out into the community. $46 million of that assistance has been distributed so far, but there's over $300 million still left to help alleviate the problem. Kudos to Governor Lamont for requiring any eviction case in Connecticut to first exhaust that Rescue Plan assistance before any judgement can be issued—that's a smart way to ensure this assistance is helping families as intended, and it's exactly what the Treasury Department is encouraging states to do."

The UniteCT Emergency Rental Assistance Program is a product of the House's H.R. 133, which Rep. Courtney voted to pass on December 21, 2020. Its passage allocated $235 million in rental assistance funds for families in need throughout Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Housing received another $186 million in a second tranche of federal funds for rental assistance from the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319), which Courtney voted to pass this year on March 10, and was signed into law on March 11.

Tenants maybe be eligible for $15,000 in rental assistance and up to $1,500 electricity payment assistance through UniteCT. Click here to learn more.

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