On Friday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced H. R. 6515, "the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act, a bill to institute a nationwide cancellation of rents and home mortgage payments through the duration of the coronavirus pandemic." As the economy continues to struggle amidst the ongoing health crisis, nearly one-third of Americans were forced to skip their rent payments for the month of April. As such, it is important that these payments that many cannot afford be cancelled during this time. However, Omar's bill has only been cosponsored by three fellow House members so far, namely fellow Democratic Reps. Veronica Escobar of Texas, Chuy Garcia of Illinois, Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Given the urgency of enacting this measure, why are only so few members of Congress actually taking a stand in favor of it?
Well, the money the real estate industry has given to Congress may be the answer to that question. Throughout this current election cycle, the industry has donated $1,809,666 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), as well as $3,727,336 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, has taken $326,240 from the industry since 2010, while committee ranking member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and vice ranking member Ann Wagner (R-MO), have respectively received $451,215 and $425,918. Additionally, since that same election cycle, the industry has contributed $477,853 to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who would have the final say as to whether or not to bring the bill to a floor vote.
Seeing how much money the real estate industry has donated to the two parties' Hill committees, as well as to the members of Congress who arguably have the greatest power over whether or not it sees the light of day, it is not likely that it ever will. Should this be the case, many struggling Americans would continue to miss rent payments, on top of facing other economic challenges during this difficult time. However, only time will tell if these representatives want to help these people in need by passing this crucial bill, or serve their donors as usual.
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