Dear Governor Inslee, 

We sent the attached letter to you back in December of last year asking you and the legislature to use financial institutions to rapidly issue rent relief, a system like the successful Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This kind of program would have paid rent first and then documentation. Your Commerce Department rejected this idea without any explanation and instead created an elaborate granting process to counties and non-profits. One of your staff said, in effect, that relief would be “a social program, not an economic one.” We sought guidance from the Treasury Department through United States’ Senator Rob Portman’s office; Treasury had no objection to the idea of treating rent relief like the PPP.

Today, President Biden’s spokesperson said this,

Some cities and States have demonstrated their ability to release these funds efficiently to tenants and landlords in need. But even though funds began to be distributed in February by the Biden Administration, too many states and cities have been too slow to act.

Governor, you lead one of those states. Many housing providers in the state are not receiving assistance on behalf of their residents. The answer is not eviction ban extensions, but fast relief for families that need help with unpaid rent and utility bills. They need that help NOW.
We heard from at least one financial institution that was ready to work on disbursing funds. We urged you to reach out to banks and credit unions to send the cash out now and settle the details later. Now the urgency has increased. 

We’re ready to talk with you about how to implement this kind of program with direct transfer of funds to cover unpaid rent quickly. Please act now and contact us and financial institutions to get this program moving today. 

Roger Director 
Seattle For Growth 
roger@seattleforgrowth.org
CC Washington State Legislature