on Twitter. It was reported that tenants in 57 buildings (2000 units total) had launched rent strikes in New York City. In June 2020, it was announced that Ithaca, New York planned to become the first U.S. city to cancel rent payments. The city had passed a resolution that allowed the mayor to cancel rent debt for tenants and small business owners for the prior three months. In September 2020, it was reported that the city had made little progress in implementing rent cancellation. This failure was attributed to the limits of city government authority, which needed approval from the New York Health Department to enact the policy, as well as the unresolved questions raised by such a policy (such as landlord debt). On June 29, Representative Maxine Waters presented the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020, which would provide $100 billion in emergency assistance for tenants and homeowners, as part of the HEROES Act. In her speech she explained, "America was facing an affordable housing crisis before this pandemic hit. With so many families struggling as a result of the pandemic, we are now on the precipice of an eviction and homelessness crisis like we’ve never seen in our lifetimes." The bill passed in the House of Representatives. In July 2020, Manhattan Assembly member Yuh-line Niou and State Senator Julia Salazar sponsored a “Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020." The act calls for the cancellation of rent for tenants and the cancellation of mortgages for small homeowners. The cancellation would extend for the duration of the statewide emergency, plus an additional 90 days. References Housing in the United States Housing protests Political movements in the United States