WASHINGTON, DC—The Council of the District of Columbia yesterday passed the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, which includes key measures providing relief to DC residents facing the threats of debt collection lawsuits and resulting economic harms during the public health emergency and the months following.
These reforms protect DC residents, during the period of the formal public health emergency declared by the Mayor and for 60 days after, from being sued or having their wages or bank accounts seized in debt collection lawsuits. The enacted protections extend to federal stimulus funds received by eligible residents with lower incomes. As Tzedek DC, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), and other allied local anti-poverty groups noted in urging the Council to pass these measures, debt collection has emerged as a civil rights issue: over 43% of African-Americans in DC have a debt in collections, more than quadruple the rate for white DC residents.
Tzedek DC Founding President and Director-Counsel Ariel Levinson-Waldman said: “We thank Chairman Mendelson and fellow members of the Council for voting unanimously to support this important relief provision, and we applaud Attorney General Racine, whose team worked closely with ours in crafting key aspects of these protections. Vulnerable families will have some increased breathing room to be able to address the financially toxic combination of dramatic income loss and mounting personal debts. We are also grateful that the bill ensures that federal stimulus payments will be available for residents to rely on for basic life necessities, including food and medical supplies.”
Guila Franklin Siegel, JCRC’s Associate Director, commented that “The Torah commands us to champion the poor, and we applaud the DC Council for protecting vulnerable families struggling with debts in the midst of the pandemic and related economic emergencies and helping give all in the DC community the ability to maintain economic well-being.”
About Tzedek DC
Drawing from the Jewish teachings of “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents dealing with the often devastating consequences of abusive debt collection practices and other consumer-related issues. Tzedek DC is headquartered at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Most of our clients are women, and nearly all are from communities of color.
About the JCRC
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) is the public affairs and community relations arm of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington representing over 100 Jewish organizations and synagogues throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The JCRC focuses on government relations, Israel advocacy, inter-group relations, and social justice.