KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The city of Kansas City, along with Clay and Jackson counties, will receive $30 million total from the federal government to help renters impacted by the pandemic.
Those funds are part of the relief package passed by Congress last month. The legislation included $25 billion in rental assistance, though it was initially unclear how much relief would come to the Kansas City area.
Last week Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II called on the incoming Biden administration to act quickly to distribute funds. The congressman announced the allocations Monday afternoon.
According to the Department of Treasury, Kansas City will receive $14.8 million, while Jackson County will get $11.6 million. Meanwhile, Clay County will receive $3.6 million.
"I'm relieved to see the Biden Administration has placed a priority on assisting renters and responded to my calls for greater urgency by allocating critically needed rental assistance to avoid an eviction tsunami," Cleaver said.
In an interview with 41 Action News, the congressman said he is also continuing to work with the new administration to strengthen the CDC eviction moratorium.
Cleaver pointed to loopholes under that order, like the fact that tenants must file CDC declaration forms to be covered and that eviction filings have continued.
"Why should we punish people and create psychological problems for people who are already struggling? I think that should stop," he said.
At the same time, he emphasized the importance of ensuring landlords in the area get relief to stay afloat.
"If we run more and more landlords out of business, it simply means that we are not going to have the availability of decent, affordable housing for a significant portion of the community," Cleaver said.
The congressman added more housing assistance is desperately needed in the next COVID relief package Congress puts together.
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