Rep. Ilhan Omar: We Need to Cancel the Rent, Not Just Postpone Evictions

Minnesota Congressmember Ilhan Omar was among the progressive Democrats who camped outside the U.S. Capitol to pressure the Biden administration into passing a new eviction moratorium after the previous moratorium lapsed July 31. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new two-month moratorium earlier in the week that covers areas of the country where there is substantial" or high" spread of the coronavirus. As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to protect those that sent us to legislate on their behalf," says Omar, adding that she has personal familiarity with housing precarity. I certainly have experienced severe aspects of that as someone who not only slept on the side of roads, on beaches ... but also spent a lot of time in a refugee camp."