Photos: Rep. Cori Bush
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sunday, Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush (shown above in yellow) released the following statement after more than a hundred community members gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol as the federal eviction moratorium expired. As the clock struck midnight Sunday morning, Congresswoman Bush and fellow members of Congress addressed the crowd and vowed to continue pushing to keep people and families in their homes.
Up to 11 million renters are now at risk of eviction during a global pandemic that is surging in states all over the country.
“We are now in an eviction emergency,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush. “Allowing the federal eviction moratorium to expire was a moral failure, but we came together last night to demonstrate that our movement is strong and our work is not finished. As someone who has been evicted and unhoused, I know the trauma that millions of families could face if we do not act immediately. As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect the people we represent. I’m calling on every single one of my colleagues to come back to Washington, D.C. and use our power to take care of each and every one of our neighbors.”
“We have no choice but to mobilize and to get members of Congress to do the right thing,” said Chairman of the Rules Committee Jim McGovern. “I get it. I don’t expect to get any Republican votes — shame on them. But I expect every Democrat to be here…Nothing good happens unless like-minded people come together and demand that it happen.”
“The fact of the matter is every single one of us, the vast majority of us, are much closer to being homeless than being a millionaire,” said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “And that’s why we’re here today. It’s not hard. It’s not crazy. Give the 24-hour notice. Make members go on the record. If they don’t want to extend the eviction moratorium, they need to tell that to the public.”
“This is a tragedy, and I’m so sorry for it,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Waters. “And for those people that are resisting it, and I just heard about Representative Bush sleeping on the steps of the Capitol, you know, do everything you can. Fight ‘till the last breath for our renters and our most vulnerable people in our society, and see what we can do to eliminate them becoming homeless.”
“Extending the eviction moratorium is a matter of life and death for the communities we represent,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Jayapal. “I [am] imploring the Biden Administration to act with the urgency this moment demands.”
On Friday evening, Congresswoman Bush sat down on the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives with a camping chair and a commitment to preventing millions of Americans from eviction. Three days later, the Congresswoman and her colleagues continue to call for one of three measures to ensure people can stay safely in their homes:
1. President Biden and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extend the federal eviction moratorium.
2. The Senate votes to extend the moratorium while they are in session and the House reconvenes to immediately pass H.R. 4791, the Protecting Renters from Evictions Act, and send it to the President to be signed into law.
3. The House reconvenes immediately to pass an eviction moratorium, the Senate takes up the legislation, and sends it to President Biden for his signature.
The Congresswoman remains seated on the House steps & vows to keep pushing for an end to the eviction emergency.
Congresswoman Cori Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Bush is a registered nurse, single mother, and an ordained pastor. Following the murder of Michael Brown Jr. by a now-terminated Ferguson police officer, she became a civil rights activist and community organizer fighting for justice for Black lives on the streets of Missouri and across the country.
