Eviction ban ends, but not too late to get help – National & International News – MON 2Aug2021

Help still available for Mississippi renters facing eviction. Infrastructure vote possible this week. US, Israeli blame Iran for deadly ship attack.

NATIONAL NEWS

Help still available for Mississippi renters

With the CDC eviction moratorium having expired on Saturday, many renters across the country are now vulnerable. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, roughly 29% of Mississippi renters are in arrears, one of the highest rates in the nation. The CBPP has produced an interactive map showing what percentage of renters are behind on payments, county by county. In most Northeast Mississippi counties, that number is around 20%, but it’s much higher than that in most of the rest of the state.

The Mississippi Home Corporation which administers the Rental Assistance for Mississippians Program (RAMP), has so far distributed just 6.2% of the $186 million it has received to help renters. More than half of that was distributed in the last month after the program got off to a very slow start.

Part of the reason for this is a lack of outreach to renters and landlords. There has also been little help to guide renters through the complicated application process, leading to missing paperwork and other bureaucratic snafus. RAMP’s website now has an interactive map showing different community organizations dedicated to helping renters in various counties to navigate the application process. In most Northeast Mississippi counties, the contact information for the assistance organization is as follows:

Covenant Faith Outreach Ministries
662-690-4009
Contact: Patricia Ross, info@cforminc.org
Office Hours: M-TH : 11 am – 7 pm

For further information, go to ms-ramp.com . Landlords may also apply on a tenant’s behalf.

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Vote on $1.2T infrastructure bill possible this week

A bipartisan group of 10 senators has at last produced a 2700-page draft for a massive infrastructure bill. The bill will now enter what may be a lengthy amendment phase where other senators will get to propose their own changes and additions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to hold a vote on the bill by the end of this week. Sen. Joe Manchin (D- W.V.) believes a final vote could come as early as Thursday.

The bill contains about $550 billion in new spending over the next 5 years. Combined with already projected federal spending, this totals around $1.2 trillion. This includes: $110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit, $66 billion for rail, and $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure. Billions more will be set aside for airports, ports, broadband Internet and electric vehicle charging stations.

The pay-fors on this bill remain a bit sketchy. Negotiators from each party rejected various funding proposals such as increasing gas taxes or boosting IRS collection enforcement. Now the bill relies on about $200 million in unspent COVID relief funds, unemployment funds rejected by some states, and expectations for future economic growth. 

Democrats hope to eclipse even this bill with a $3.5 trillion proposal for “social” infrastructure spending for child care, healthcare and education. Schumer also hopes to have a vote on a budget blueprint for this bill by the end of the week. Democrats ultimately plan to pass this larger bill without Republican support through budget reconciliation, but that likely will not happen until the fall.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel, US blame Iran for deadly attack on Israeli oil tanker

The British and American governments say they are holding Iran responsible for a “violation of international law” following a drone attack on an Israeli-operated oil tanker. The attack took place Thursday off the coast of Oman, killing one Briton and one Romanian.

Before the US and UK statements, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had claimed there was evidence that Iran was responsible. Iran dismissed this as a “baseless accusation”.

This is only the latest in a string of tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and Israel in recent months. Israel is believed to be behind several incidents aboard Iranian-owned tankers, to which Iran has responded in kind. Iran also blames Israel for numerous sabotage attacks on various nuclear facilities, as well as the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Israel has never officially responded to the allegations. Meanwhile, sources claiming connections to Israel’s spy agency Mossad have claimed credit for the attacks and even provided details about the operations.

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