BY GRANT LANCASTER
A New York Congresswoman called for a hold on foreclosures and evictions for all Americans living in federally assisted housing as a result of COVID-19 coronavirus.
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), senior member of the House Committee on Financial Services, wrote a letter calling for immediate action supported by 106 members of Congress.
The emergency measures the nation has used to try to fight the spread of coronavirus have had an economic impact on those living in government housing, through no fault of their own, the authors said.
The proposed moratorium would affect properties owned, insured or overseen by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture – more than 63% of all U.S. mortgages, according to a Wednesday press release.
“We must take proactive steps to protect the millions of working-class families, low-income households and minority communities who will be disproportionately affected as increasingly aggressive quarantine measures develop and are implemented on the local, state and federal levels,” the authors said.
The authors cited HUD, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s temporary hold on foreclosures for Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria in 2017 as precedent for their call to action.
