Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders joined state lawmakers in New York and California in calls to freeze and forgive rent payments, as millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet under coronavirus lockdown.
Sanders and Biden followed several state-level Democrats in demanding a 90-day or three-month moratorium in tenants paying rent to landlords. After nationwide U.S. confirmed cases of coronavirus surpassed 100,000 Friday, Biden concurred with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order protecting renters from eviction as a direct result of medical or employment issues tied to COVID-19. Sanders offered his support on Saturday to New York State Senator Mike Gianaris, who is leading “#CancelRent” calls, and who proposed Senate Bill 8125A Friday to suspend rent payments for small businesses and tenants who’ve either had their paychecks eliminated or reduced by the coronavirus quarantine.
