President Trump’s expected executive order to extend, if not expand, the CARES Act’s federal ban on evictions, which recently expired, very likely will prove woefully inadequate to help people experiencing homelessness or the millions of renters struggling to pay rent.

The CARES Act’s eviction moratorium only covered renters who participate in federal housing

With new weekly data revealing several troubling trends, including increases in the already significant number of people struggling to buy food and pay rent, policymakers must act now to prevent further hardship.

Over the last four weeks:

When the President and Congress write a final fiscal year 2021 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), they should adopt many provisions of a version that the House Appropriations Committee has passed — which would provide substantial new funds for programs that reduce homelessness and help low-income families, seniors, and others afford decent homes to rent....

The CARES Act’s $4 billion for housing under its Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, along with its other COVID-19 relief, can go far in serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness during this crisis. But how far it goes depends on any steps that states and communities take to not only address the current crisis but correct longstanding inequities that perpetuate homelessness...