US congresswoman spends night outside Capitol to protest against return of evictions
- Cori Bush was evicted three times and lived in her car with her two children before her career in politics
- Bush urged an Instagram audience to join her call to stop the moratorium on Saturday of a pandemic freeze on evictions from expiring
US congresswoman Cori Bush, who was evicted three times and lived in her car with her two children before her career in politics, spent a sleepless night on the US Capitol steps to protest against the end on Saturday of a pandemic freeze on evictions.
Bush, a progressive Democrat who won her Missouri seat last year, managed about an hour of sleep sitting upright on a camp chair. Two other progressive politicians – Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley – showed up to support her.
“Today, by midnight, if nothing happens, if no other action is taken from the House, or the Senate or the administration, 7 million people will be at risk for evictions,” Bush said. “I’ve been there myself.”
People are at risk of eviction because of unpaid rent that accrued during the pandemic, when many lost jobs due to the economic fallout. The CDC imposed the moratorium 11 months ago in part to prevent the spread of the coronavirus through crowding in shelters and homes of people who would take in others.
The House of Representatives adjourned for a seven-week August recess on Friday without renewing the moratorium after a Republican congressman blocked a motion to extend it until October 18. Lacking sufficient support, including among some Democrats, House Democrats opted not to bring legislation to a vote.