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3/11/2022

In Pennsylvania, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo Highlights Emergency Rental Assistance Programs …

In Pennsylvania, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally
Adeyemo Highlights Emergency Rental Assistance Programs
with Governor Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Kenney
March 10, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo traveled to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today as part of the U.S. Department of the Treasuryʼs tour of
American Rescue Plan programs this week. The Deputy Secretaryʼs trip, which comes a year
a er the American Rescue Plan Act was signed by President Biden, included an event
highlighting Philadelphiaʼs highly successful Emergency Rental Assistance program.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia ERA program
leaders, and recipient tenants and landlords joined Deputy Secretary Adeyemo to highlight
how the program set a national example early on with its robust eviction diversion program
that requires landlords to apply for ERA before eviction proceedings can move forward. In
February, Philadelphiaʼs eviction filings were down 66% relative to historical averages,
according to data from Princetonʼs Eviction Lab.
"We know that Pennsylvanians have been hit hard by the pandemic, and building a long term,
equitable recovery for all Pennsylvanians is an e ort that requires all of us to work together at
the local, state, and federal levels," said Governor Tom Wolf. "I want to thank Mayor Kenney
and his administration for doing their part through PHL RentAssist and the Cityʼs Eviction
Diversion Program, and I thank Deputy Secretary Adeyemo and the Biden Administration for
their commitment to investing in the people of Pennsylvania."
“Keeping people in their homes and supporting landlords a ected by COVID-19 has been a
major priority throughout the pandemic. The availability of direct federal assistance made
creating Philadelphia's rental assistance program—PHL RentAssist—more urgent, more
feasible, and more scalable,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Philadelphia is grateful to the Biden
Administration, Congress, Governor Wolf, the General Assembly, and the Department of
Human Services for the critical funding needed to accelerate our rental assistance program,
which has allowed to us place over $248 million into the hands of Philadelphia tenants and
landlords and help more than 39,000 households since May 2020.”
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0649

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3/11/2022

In Pennsylvania, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo Highlights Emergency Rental Assistance Programs …

“Without federal interventions like the Emergency Rental Assistance program that President
Biden expanded under the American Rescue Plan, we may very well have seen an eviction crisis
that would have created long-term economic scarring for millions of families,” said Deputy
Secretary Adeyemo. “Instead, thanks to successful programs like Philadelphiaʼs, approximately
4.3 million ERA payments have been made to keep people in their homes and keep children in
their schools, and the country has a nationwide eviction prevention infrastructure that never
existed before.”
A year a er President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law, its impact on the
lives of millions of families is clear. Yesterday, Princeton Universityʼs Eviction Lab published a
new report finding that millions of renters avoided eviction last year due to the federal
governmentʼs serious and unprecedented interventions, in significant part through the
American Rescue Plan. It also found that low-income and majority-Black neighborhoods that
typically see a disproportionate share of eviction cases experienced the largest absolute
reduction in filings, consistent with Treasury data showing that over 80% of ERA funds
reached the lowest-income renters. Earlier this week, Treasury announced that 4.3 million ERA
payments have been made to households through January 2022 as funds continue to increase
their reach to households across the country.
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https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0649

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