SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Geri Andre-Major helps her son Max, 5, with his school work on March 26, 2020 in Mount Vernon, New York. Andre-Major said she was furloughed as a pre-school teacher at Chelsea Piers Connecticut on March 13. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
With Bills Due April 1, More Than 400,000 Demand Congress Freeze All Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Payments
"Millions are wondering how they'll pay their rent or mortgage by tomorrow. We need additional emergency action suspending rent, mortgage and utility payments for the duration of this crisis."
Mar 31, 2020
More than 400,000 people have signed a petition calling on Congress to freeze all rent, mortgage, and utility payments nationwide in order to prevent a looming "housing catastrophe" as millions of Americans head into April jobless and unsure whether they will be able to afford their bills.
"Millions are wondering how they'll pay their rent or mortgage by tomorrow," said Justin Ruben, co-director of ParentsTogether Action, which organized the petition. "We need additional emergency action suspending rent, mortgage and utility payments for the duration of this crisis."
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow? Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
-- Public Citizen
On Tuesday, ParentsTogether released a survey showing that just 38% of parents believe they will be able to make their rent or mortgage payments on Wednesday without cutting back on food, medicine, or other necessities.
"This isn't a choice we should be forcing people to make," said Ruben.
An estimated 43 million U.S. households are renters, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Wednesday marks the first time rent payments are due since the coronavirus crisis shuttered large segments of the economy and sparked mass layoffs. Nearly 3.3 million people filed unemployment claims two weeks ago and millions more likely lost their jobs last week.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released earlier this month showed that nearly one in five U.S. adults have either lost their jobs or seen a reduction in hours as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow?" asked consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, calls for a nationwide rent moratorium have surged in recent days as the economic fallout from the coronavirus shows no sign of abating.
Cea Weaver, spokesperson for the New York-based tenant coalition Housing Justice for All, warned that the U.S. could see "apocalyptic levels of homelessness and evictions" if lawmakers don't freeze rent and other monthly payments immediately.
The Intercept's Aida Chavez reported last Friday that "major bill payments have barely factored into U.S. politicians' response" to the coronavirus pandemic.
"While some states--namely New York--have taken steps to temporarily block evictions, congressional Democrats, with the exception of a handful of progressive lawmakers, have shown almost no interest in addressing the bills due in less than a week, one of the most pressing financial concerns ordinary people currently face," Chavez noted.
One exception is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who on Tuesday criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for demanding a 90-day moratorium on mortgage payments while ignoring renters.
"If you called for a suspension or moratorium on mortgage payments, then we should also call for that same treatment on rent payments," Ocasio-Cortez said during an appearance on "The Brian Lehrer Show" on WNYC.
"We're essentially rewarding and offering preferential treatment to landowners and folks who are more wealthy," the New York Democrat added, "and we're not offering that same kind of relief to renters."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
More than 400,000 people have signed a petition calling on Congress to freeze all rent, mortgage, and utility payments nationwide in order to prevent a looming "housing catastrophe" as millions of Americans head into April jobless and unsure whether they will be able to afford their bills.
"Millions are wondering how they'll pay their rent or mortgage by tomorrow," said Justin Ruben, co-director of ParentsTogether Action, which organized the petition. "We need additional emergency action suspending rent, mortgage and utility payments for the duration of this crisis."
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow? Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
-- Public Citizen
On Tuesday, ParentsTogether released a survey showing that just 38% of parents believe they will be able to make their rent or mortgage payments on Wednesday without cutting back on food, medicine, or other necessities.
"This isn't a choice we should be forcing people to make," said Ruben.
An estimated 43 million U.S. households are renters, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Wednesday marks the first time rent payments are due since the coronavirus crisis shuttered large segments of the economy and sparked mass layoffs. Nearly 3.3 million people filed unemployment claims two weeks ago and millions more likely lost their jobs last week.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released earlier this month showed that nearly one in five U.S. adults have either lost their jobs or seen a reduction in hours as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow?" asked consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, calls for a nationwide rent moratorium have surged in recent days as the economic fallout from the coronavirus shows no sign of abating.
Cea Weaver, spokesperson for the New York-based tenant coalition Housing Justice for All, warned that the U.S. could see "apocalyptic levels of homelessness and evictions" if lawmakers don't freeze rent and other monthly payments immediately.
The Intercept's Aida Chavez reported last Friday that "major bill payments have barely factored into U.S. politicians' response" to the coronavirus pandemic.
"While some states--namely New York--have taken steps to temporarily block evictions, congressional Democrats, with the exception of a handful of progressive lawmakers, have shown almost no interest in addressing the bills due in less than a week, one of the most pressing financial concerns ordinary people currently face," Chavez noted.
One exception is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who on Tuesday criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for demanding a 90-day moratorium on mortgage payments while ignoring renters.
"If you called for a suspension or moratorium on mortgage payments, then we should also call for that same treatment on rent payments," Ocasio-Cortez said during an appearance on "The Brian Lehrer Show" on WNYC.
"We're essentially rewarding and offering preferential treatment to landowners and folks who are more wealthy," the New York Democrat added, "and we're not offering that same kind of relief to renters."
More than 400,000 people have signed a petition calling on Congress to freeze all rent, mortgage, and utility payments nationwide in order to prevent a looming "housing catastrophe" as millions of Americans head into April jobless and unsure whether they will be able to afford their bills.
"Millions are wondering how they'll pay their rent or mortgage by tomorrow," said Justin Ruben, co-director of ParentsTogether Action, which organized the petition. "We need additional emergency action suspending rent, mortgage and utility payments for the duration of this crisis."
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow? Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
-- Public Citizen
On Tuesday, ParentsTogether released a survey showing that just 38% of parents believe they will be able to make their rent or mortgage payments on Wednesday without cutting back on food, medicine, or other necessities.
"This isn't a choice we should be forcing people to make," said Ruben.
An estimated 43 million U.S. households are renters, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Wednesday marks the first time rent payments are due since the coronavirus crisis shuttered large segments of the economy and sparked mass layoffs. Nearly 3.3 million people filed unemployment claims two weeks ago and millions more likely lost their jobs last week.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released earlier this month showed that nearly one in five U.S. adults have either lost their jobs or seen a reduction in hours as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"How the hell are people expected to pay their bills tomorrow?" asked consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "Rent, mortgages, utilities, and more must be frozen immediately."
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, calls for a nationwide rent moratorium have surged in recent days as the economic fallout from the coronavirus shows no sign of abating.
Cea Weaver, spokesperson for the New York-based tenant coalition Housing Justice for All, warned that the U.S. could see "apocalyptic levels of homelessness and evictions" if lawmakers don't freeze rent and other monthly payments immediately.
The Intercept's Aida Chavez reported last Friday that "major bill payments have barely factored into U.S. politicians' response" to the coronavirus pandemic.
"While some states--namely New York--have taken steps to temporarily block evictions, congressional Democrats, with the exception of a handful of progressive lawmakers, have shown almost no interest in addressing the bills due in less than a week, one of the most pressing financial concerns ordinary people currently face," Chavez noted.
One exception is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who on Tuesday criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for demanding a 90-day moratorium on mortgage payments while ignoring renters.
"If you called for a suspension or moratorium on mortgage payments, then we should also call for that same treatment on rent payments," Ocasio-Cortez said during an appearance on "The Brian Lehrer Show" on WNYC.
"We're essentially rewarding and offering preferential treatment to landowners and folks who are more wealthy," the New York Democrat added, "and we're not offering that same kind of relief to renters."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.