Maxine Waters

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman form Iowa (Mrs. Axne), a distinguished member of the Financial Services Committee.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar), who is a distinguished member on the Education and Labor Committee.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman DeFazio for all of his hard work on the Moving Forward Act, and I especially thank him for including my Housing is Infrastructure legislation in this important bill. My colleague from Ohio has expressed concerns that our committee has not sufficiently debated the housing provisions in this bill. But let me remind him that we held a hearing on H.R. 5187, which is the same text of the housing division in this bill, and that hearing was held in April 2019. We also had a markup on this legislation in February of this year. So, I don't know where he was when all of this was taking place, but we certainly had sufficient hearings and markup on this bill. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Democrats are committed to investing in and improving our Nation's infrastructure, including our affordable housing infrastructure. Republicans continue to insist that these investments are irresponsible, but I contend that it would be irresponsible not to make these investments. When we have children living in housing that exposes them to lead poisoning and homes in flood zones that are not built to code, we are setting ourselves up for much higher costs down the road. We must make the responsible choice and pass H.R. 2. Mr. Speaker, this is such a significant piece of legislation, legislation that speaks to the repair of the infrastructure of this country. Bridges are in disrepair and have been deemed to be dangerous. They may fall apart, and some have. We have water systems in this country-- everybody knows about Flint, but there are a lot of more Flints in this Nation, with old pipes, pipes with lead, children exposed to water that could cause them brain damage for the rest of their lives. We have roads and highways that are in great disrepair. The President of the United States wants to spend $2 trillion, and I am pleased about that. I don't know what my colleague on the opposite side of the aisle is so upset about. He is talking about the Republicans didn't get enough amendments. Well, it is not our fault if they don't know how to craft amendments that are appropriate and that should be in this bill. Because in our Committee on Rules, Democrats have been very fair in the way that they have dealt with this. I don't know what he is so upset about that they didn't get into this bill. No, this bill does not include investment in building a wall, if that is what they are interested in. We are not about building any walls to keep out immigrants from Mexico or anyplace else, if that is what they are interested in. This bill does not do that. This bill is about making sure that our citizens get the support from their government that they deserve, to make sure that their communities are safer, that our schools are safer, that our drinking water is safer. This is about making sure that we put the resources into this country that are so desperately needed and much of which have been neglected for far too long. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this bill and what it is going to do for all of our citizens in this country, north, south, east, and west. I am proud that the leadership of the Democratic Party in this government have taken this as a number one priority, and we are presenting a total piece of legislation that addresses concerns that all of our Members have said they have had. Mr. Speaker, again, I am proud of the work that Mr. DeFazio has done, and I am proud of all the amendments that have been included in this bill. I am pleased that I have the opportunity today to stand here on these en bloc amendments and participate in one of the most important pieces of legislation this House could have ever presented. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2 and this en bloc amendment. I thank my colleague, Chairman Peter DeFazio, for his work on this bill and for including my amendment to assist airport concessionaires. Mr. Speaker, my amendment requires airports that receive supplemental airport funding to provide financial relief to airport concessionaires experiencing economic hardship. This amendment is a critical down payment toward the long-term financial assistance needed by concessionaires that are a vital part of our Nation's air travel system. Concessionaires are small businesses and often minority-owned businesses. They are completely dependent upon thriving airports and robust demand for air travel. As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the aviation industry, concessionaires need targeted relief. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for his tremendous leadership and work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, which includes $100 billion in critical funding for our Nation's affordable housing infrastructure to create or preserve approximately 1.8 million affordable homes. While we need stronger and better roads and bridges, they mean nothing for families who don't have a roof over their head or who are forced to live in substandard housing. This country is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. It is a crisis of tragic proportions that has resulted in over 550,000 people experiencing homelessness and nearly 38 million renter households paying unaffordable rent even before this crisis began. The public health crisis that we are currently experiencing has exacerbated matters with millions of Americans across the country having lost their jobs and struggling to afford housing costs. Communities of color continue to suffer disproportionately, both from the virus and the resulting economic damage. The investments into affordable housing through this bill will not only increase and improve the supply of affordable housing, but it will also create jobs throughout the country and generate revenue for State and local governments which will go a long way to help our economy recover from the pandemic. So I want to thank Speaker Pelosi and, of course, again, Chairman DeFazio for their work putting together this legislative package. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 7301 and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7301, the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020. This bill includes several provisions that were included in the HEROES Act and independently led by a number of members of the Financial Services Committee. Some people hearing this bill won't understand what we are attempting to do here today. As I said, this was a part of the HEROES Act that passed this House, but we have been waiting on the Senate to take up the HEROES Act. They are not taking it up. They don't seem to care. They don't seem to understand that there are people out there who are going to be evicted, and so, we have pulled it out of the HEROES Act, and we are taking it up independently so that we can send a message to the Senate that we want this measure heard. So, we have a number of Members who have participated in putting this legislation together and who had independent bills to do so. That includes Representatives Lacy Clay, Denny Heck, David Scott, Chuy Garcia, Cindy Axne, Nydia Velazquez, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, and Al Green. Mr. Speaker, America was facing an affordable housing crisis before this pandemic hit. With so many families struggling as a result of the pandemic, we are now on the precipice of an eviction and a homeless crisis like we have never seen in our lifetime. We can't wait any longer. We have got to move. The CARES Act was an important step towards providing relief, but more help is needed. We knew, for example, that an eviction moratorium without the provision of rental assistance would only delay disastrous outcomes as families would have to pay more than they could afford, a lump sum of 3 to 4 months of unpaid rent at the expiration of the moratorium. This House followed through on providing several additional and targeted housing solutions when it passed the HEROES Act. Unfortunately, in the 45 days since the HEROES Act passed, there has been no action taken by either our Republican colleagues in the Senate or the Trump administration. This is simply unacceptable. As a matter of fact, someone said this morning, and I repeat, we have not heard one word, not one peep from this administration about rental assistance. We saw in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis what the consequences are when Congress acts too slowly: 10 million foreclosures, almost $17 trillion in household wealth lost, increases in rates of homelessness all across the country. And we saw how communities of color were disproportionately hit with foreclosures and a corresponding loss of wealth after they had been targeted with predatory mortgage products. Today, there are over 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and over 125,000 Americans have died. The Centers for Disease Control reported that as of June 20, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are highest among Native, Black, and Latinx Americans. We also know that people of color account for the largest portion of the essential workers, have a higher incidence of preexisting health conditions, and that with these preexisting health conditions they have, they have limited access to healthcare, and have fewer opportunities to isolate because they cannot work from home. But I must emphasize that this pandemic did not create such disparities, it only exacerbated them, and I hope this pandemic has finally drawn widespread public attention to all of these disparities. Congress cannot fail again to quickly act as we did in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. Since passage of the HEROES Act, our Nation's renters and homeowners have experienced renewed pressures. When June rent came due, one in three renters were unable to fully pay their rent. On June 14, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the number of homeowners in forbearance reached 4.2 million. Since passage of the HEROES Act, we have now experienced record days of both new positive coronavirus tests, including in Texas, Florida, Georgia and my State of California. And since the HEROES Act passed, over 11 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. There are now only 25 days left before the Federal eviction ban expires on July 25. When it does, many families who have been unable to pay their rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic will face eviction and the devastating consequences that evictions have on families, particularly children. Our committee heard testimony in January from one gentleman about what it was like when all of his belongings were put out on the sidewalk and he and his children were forced out of their home. He told us how he fell behind on rent while trying to obtain training for a higher paying job and how the sheriff banged on his door one morning while his 9-year-old son was getting ready for school. He described how he and his wife watched as all of their personal belongings were thrown on to the front lawn, including items with sentimental value like their wedding photos. He said, ``I remember the feeling that I'd failed. Failed as a husband and as a father to provide a place for my family.'' Several landlords declined his rental applications after charging a nonreimbursable application fee, likely because they saw the eviction on his record, and he and his family stayed at motels that were even more costly than paying rent. Maya Angelou once wrote that: ``Home is a refuge not only from the world, but a refuge from my worries, my troubles, my concerns.'' And we know all too well what happens to families, and especially children, when their homes are forcibly taken from them. We cannot sit idly by. We must understand that an eviction can disrupt every aspect of a family's life, putting them at greater risk of job loss, homelessness, and gaps or other disruptions to a child's education. Housing instability can be particularly traumatic for young children and can have lifelong impacts. Studies show that children who avoid eviction due to a long-term housing subsidy have better educational achievement, obtain higher paying jobs as adults, and are less likely to become incarcerated. Many families with evictions on their records cannot find another home and fall into homelessness. So, again, we cannot sit idly by and let this eviction crisis cause irreparable harm to millions of families around the country. The bill before us today pulls out the key housing protection and relief provisions from the HEROES Act. Specifically, let me tell what you the bill does. It provides $100 billion for an emergency rental assistance fund and $75 billion for a homeowners' assistance fund to ensure renters and homeowners can cover their housing expenses, including rent, mortgage payments, and utility bills. It extends and expands the eviction and foreclosure moratoria for all renters and homeowners, as well as provides additional forbearance relief. It provides $18 billion in funding for homeless assistance and other Federal housing assistance programs to ensure rents remain affordable and housing is maintained in a safe and decent condition. It creates a lending facility for mortgage servicers and rental property owners to help them finance their obligations and shortfalls in rent. It ensures robust, fair housing enforcement and housing counseling to protect all renters and homeowners. What happens next is up to us. Each of us in this Chamber knows the value of a place where we and our family come together, share a meal, and safely rest our heads. We also know that households of color still have not fully recovered from the 2008 crisis, and we know that they will continue to be disproportionately impacted if the pandemic causes the housing crisis to worsen. I, for one, refuse to do nothing while families suffer. This is an emergency, and it calls for the emergency response provided by this legislation. We can't wait. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) had an opportunity when this bill went through the House. It is over on the Senate side. If the Republicans want to do more negotiation, they know they have to take it up over there. I don't care how we get it, with this bill or with the one over there. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the senior member of the Financial Services Committee and chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and sponsor of the emergency rental assistance title of this bill.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), who is a member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire, if I may, how much time do I have remaining?

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the distinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I come from a family of 13 children. We were poor. We lived in inadequate housing. It was cold in the wintertime, and the pipes froze on the inside of our house. In the summertime, it was too hot to be in the house. We sat on the stoop through the wee hours of the morning, trying to stay cool. But it was home. I worried that we were going to be evicted, but my mother managed to put together the money, and we never got evicted. But my neighbors and my friends, I saw evicted. Maybe my friends on the opposite side of the aisle have never seen this. They don't understand this. I have my friend from Michigan talking about a family that makes $131,000 per year. The Members of Congress make $175,000 a year, and we have Members of Congress who sleep free in this place, don't pay any rent when they are in Washington, D.C., and you have the audacity to come here and talk about denying assistance to people who are at the worst part of their lives to be evicted. No, I do not yield. This is an emergency. The hospitals are filling up. Children are hungry. People have lost their jobs. This is about whether or not people are going to have a place to lay their heads. This is about whether or not families are going to stay together. We have hospitals where the ICU rooms are all filled, and these people may be sick and not have a place to go home to. So, I am not about to wait. Yes, he mocked us when we said we can't wait any longer. No, we cannot wait any longer. Mr. Speaker, this is why I am in the Congress of the United States of America. This is why I came, for moments like this, to speak for the least of these, to speak for the poorest families in America, to speak for families when they need help. This is an emergency. Our families need help, and I cannot wait. You should not wait. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by my Republican colleague to H.R. 7301. Mr. Speaker, the amendment before us does nothing to bring relief to struggling families. The amendment would deny millions of families, including children, assistance during a crisis because someone in their family is here without proper documentation. Racism, anti-immigrant policies hurt children the most. We are on the precipice of a housing crisis not seen since the Great Depression, a crisis that threatens to strip countless families of a home at a time when they are being asked to stay home. The House must take emergency action to respond and pass emergency legislation. Over the weekend, States across the country, including my home of California, experienced the highest levels of infection since the pandemic began. On Sunday, Texas reported more than 5,000 cases for the sixth day in a row. Shortly after passage of the HEROES Act in May, Texas had 1,791 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds; yesterday, there were 5,500. In California, hospitalizations have now increased by 32 percent, while ICUs have gone up 19 percent over the past 14 days. These trends are similar in Arizona, Georgia, and Florida, and many of these States are halting their plans to reopen the economy. On Friday, Texas closed down bars across the State and on Saturday warned residents in San Antonio and Bexar County that local hospitals were approaching capacity. Where exactly are COVID-19 patients expected to isolate when the hospitals fill up? We are not through with this pandemic, and recent trends suggest it is getting worse. Six weeks ago, this Chamber passed the HEROES Act, but the Republican-led Senate and Trump administration have done nothing to advance the bill. This is totally unacceptable. Fully one-third of renters were unable to pay their rent in June, and at least 4.2 million homeowners are now in forbearance. And we know evictions are already on the rise. In North Carolina, 9,000 eviction cases have been filed since this moratorium expired last week. In Columbus, Ohio, eviction hearings are taking place in a convention center to accommodate the number of cases and comply with social distancing guidelines. In Tennessee, more than 9,000 eviction cases are pending in one county alone. The Michigan State Court Administrative Office estimates 75,000 evictions will be filed when its moratorium ends this month. I would like to share one story about someone this bill seeks to help. Deanna Brooks, a Navy veteran from Dallas, Texas, lost her job because of the pandemic. However, because her former employer was unresponsive, she had trouble collecting the needed documentation to collect unemployment or other assistance and was unable to pay rent, so her landlord filed for her to be evicted. She has no friends or family she can move in with and has been in and out of the hospital because she has a heart condition. She said: ``I'm scared. They'll throw everything I have outside on the street. I have nowhere to go.'' In Delaware, Rhiannon Clark and her fiance were unable to pay their rent after Clark, who was a bartender, lost her job and her fiance fell ill with COVID-19 and couldn't go to work. Eventually, Clark and one of her two children also came down with the illness. Now her family faces eviction, even as they recover from COVID-19. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, rent and mortgages are due for millions of families. These are two stories. They are sad stories. I fear that this is going to be repeated a million times over if Congress fails to act. And so here we are, Members of Congress. We are comfortable. We can afford to pay our rent. We have millionaires in Congress. They can afford to pay the rent of a whole lot of people if they wanted to. And they are going to go home to their families. They are going to be safe, and they are going to be secure. And while they are in Washington, they don't pay any rent, many of them. They sleep in their offices at night. And yet they are talking about denying people rent who don't have another dime. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1017, I call up the bill (H.R. 7301) to prevent evictions, foreclosures, and unsafe housing conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind all Members and the gentleman that Republicans don't care about debt as long as they are doing the spending; it is only when Democrats are helping Americans, even in a time of crisis. Remember, it was the President of the United States, Trump, who said he likes debt. I quote him. He said he likes debt. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the senior member of the Financial Services Committee and chair of the Committee on Small Business.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay), chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I have yielded to the gentleman extra time. His time has expired. Parliamentary Inquiry

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), a member of the Financial Services Committee.