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Letter to the Hon. Mark Calabria, Dir. of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Hon. Robert Wilkie, Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the Hon. Ben Carson, Secretary of the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the Hon. Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture - Rep. Axne Tells Federal Housing Leaders to Halt Foreclosures on Federally Backed Properties

Letter

By: Ruben Gallego, Barbara Lee, Jimmy Panetta, Ted Lieu, Raul Ruiz, Nanette Barragán, Juan Vargas, Joe Neguse, Jim Himes, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Charlie Crist, Jr., Donna Shalala, Michael San Nicolas, Chuy Garcia, Jan Schakowsky, Cheri Bustos, Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Angie Craig, Lacy Clay, Jr., Alma Adams, Tom Malinowski, Deb Haaland, Kathleen Rice, Hakeem Jeffries, Max Rose, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mike Thompson, Jackie Speier, Julia Brownley, Jimmy Gomez, Linda Sánchez, Alan Lowenthal, Scott Peters, Jason Crow, Jahana Hayes, Al Lawson, Jr., Alcee Hastings, Sr., Hank Johnson, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Casten, Brad Schneider, André Carson, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum, Emanuel Cleaver II, Chris Pappas, Albio Sires, Steven Horsford, Gregory Meeks, Yvette Clarke, Carolyn Maloney, José Serrano, Marcy Kaptur, Peter DeFazio, Mike Doyle, Jr., Jim Langevin, Al Green, Bobby Scott, Cindy Axne, Ann Kirkpatrick, Jerry McNerney, Anna Eshoo, Tony Cárdenas, Norma Torres, Mark Takano, Mike Levin, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Eleanor Norton, Val Demings, Ted Deutch, David Scott, Dave Loebsack, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, Sharice Davids, David Trone, Brenda Lawrence, Ilhan Omar, Kilili Sablan, Annie Kuster, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Thomas Suozzi, Nydia Velázquez, Jerry Nadler, Adriano Espaillat, Eliot Engel, Tim Ryan, Mary Scanlon, Jenniffer González-Colón, Steve Cohen, Veronica Escobar, Don Beyer, Jr., Denny Heck, Sean Maloney, Earl Blumenauer, Susan Wild, David Cicilline, Lizzie Fletcher, Filemon Vela, Jr., Jennifer Wexton, Mark Pocan, Gerry Connolly, Gwen Moore
Date: March 17, 2020
Issues: National Security Health and Health Care Housing and Property

Dear Director Calabria, Secretary Carson, Secretary Wilkie, and Secretary Perdue:

We write to request that your agencies institute an immediate, nationwide moratorium on all foreclosures of, and evictions from, properties owned, insured, or overseen by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service in light of the developing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is a national emergency, and many occupants of federally-assisted housing will not be able to afford rent or mortgage payments through no fault of their own, as a direct result of emergency limitations put in place to safeguard public health.

This request is not without precedent; moratoriums of this nature have been imposed in the past when our nation has faced our darkest days. For example, after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac instituted a temporary foreclosure moratorium for affected homeowners in Puerto Rico.

Much like a natural disaster, COVID-19 has already caused untold health, social, and economic damage in the United States and across the globe. During this time of uncertainty, it is imperative that your agencies impose a temporary moratorium on foreclosures and evictions to protect the countless Americans who have been, or soon will be, impacted by this evolving public health crisis.

As the number of infected individuals and the number of broken supply chains rises, 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.

As you know, President Trump has now declared a national emergency under the Stafford Act. Accordingly, and consistent with this declaration, we urge all of you to immediately take steps to halt all foreclosures and evictions -- whether new or pending -- in order to protect millions of Americans during this crisis.


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