releases: https://www.portman.senate.gov/newsroom/portman-difference/portman-op-ed-cincinnati-enquirer-help-way-prevent-evictions
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.portman.senate.gov/newsroom/portman-difference/portman-op-ed-cincinnati-enquirer-help-way-prevent-evictions | Portman Op-Ed in The Cincinnati Enquirer: Help is on the Way to Prevent Evictions | 2020-12-17 | 2020 | 2020-12 | Republican | Senate | OH | Rob Portman | P000449 | www.portman.senate.gov | legacy | Portman Op-Ed in The Cincinnati Enquirer: Help is on the Way to Prevent Evictions December 17, 2020 | Portman Difference Today, in an op-ed for The Cincinnati Enquirer, Senator Portman discussed his bipartisan efforts to pass a COVID-19 relief package, including additional aid to help those facing evictions. Portman has long focused on ensuring Ohioans have affordable housing and is currently championing the bipartisan Evictions Crisis Act, which will help to address the national housing crisis that has been made worse by the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bipartisan legislation, which Portman introduced in December 2019, will shed light on the root causes of the eviction crisis, reduce preventable evictions, and limit the devastation to families when eviction is unavoidable. More than 75 national and Ohio based housing, civil rights, and homelessness groups have announced their strong support for the Eviction Crisis Act. Earlier this week, Portman joined a group of bipartisan senators in introducing two bipartisan packages to provide as much as $908 billion in relief to American students, families, businesses, workers, and health care providers during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The legislation includes a provision to provide an additional $25 billion in rental assistance across the country to help cover the rent for thousands of households. Congressional leadership is using most of the legislation as the basis for the final product they will unveil to create a bridge of support between now and when the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. Excerpts of the op-ed can be found below and the full op-ed can be found here. Help is on the Way to Prevent Evictions By U.S. Senator Rob Portman The Cincinnati Enquirer December 17, 2020 Evictions were rising even before the coronavirus pandemic, and now we are on the cusp of a real eviction crisis. Through smart policy, a lot of these painful and costly evictions could be avoided to the benefit of families and landlords. Of course, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the job loss associated with it, millions of Americans have lost economic security and are at risk of eviction, and potentially homelessness. Record levels of unemployment have hit low and middle-income families the hardest the same families who were already at greatest risk for eviction before this pandemic, and thousands are now at risk of losing their home through no fault of their own. Working with a small bipartisan group of senators five Republicans and five Democrats we reached an agreement on another COVID-19 relief package designed to help families and small businesses who need it the most. This includes renters vulnerable to eviction, and our bipartisan plan will do so by providing an additional $25 billion in rental assistance across the country to help cover the rent for thousands of households. This new funding would supplement existing efforts to support tenants, while directing resources to those in the most vulnerable situations. This funding would also be provided to housing providers on behalf of tenants so as to make landlords whole as well. The bipartisan senators I am working alongside all recognize that it is essential that any new COVID-19 relief legislation include this kind of support. A year ago, I introduced, alongside Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), the Evictions Crisis Act, which will help us better understand the causes of evictions, expand support for preventing evictions, and help mitigate the consequences when an eviction is unavoidable. Our bill has earned the support of affordable housing advocacy groups like the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the National Housing Law Project, civil rights groups like the NAACP, and countless Ohio groups, including the Affordable Housing Trust, the OHIO Capital Corporation for Housing, and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. I am hopeful that by building a bipartisan coalition in Congress and in communities across Ohio, we can continue to make headway and keep more families in their homes, even after this current COVID-19 crisis passes. Right now, my top priority in Congress remains passing another bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill that provides targeted help to those who need it most, including our vulnerable renters. And once this pandemic passes, I will continue to work with stakeholders across Ohio to solve this serious, systemic challenge of evictions. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |