Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro suggested Congress pass a bill that gives direct rental assistance to prevent a housing meltdown during the coronavirus pandemic, according to NBC News.
"We should invest $100 billion in direct rental assistance that the HEROES Act would include, as well as Emergency Solutions Grants, which address homelessness in local communities across the country," Castro said.
Castro, who served under former President Barack Obama, said Congress should set aside $100 billion in direct housing assistance.
When the CARES Act passed in late March, it contained a moratorium on evictions for people living in housing paid for with federally backed mortgages who could not pay rent. But that only applied to roughly 20% of renters.
In June, the House passed a $3 trillion bill to extend eviction moratoriums and unemployment benefits, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to reject the legislation.
"If you want to avert a disaster in this country, where millions of people are out sleeping on the streets, then you better pass the HEROES Act, and you need to make sure those eviction moratoriums are in place," Castro said.
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