Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/850318.pdf ↗

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report was created not before Congress voted on the Act but, rather, after the

votes had been cast. Thus, no member of Congress voted in reliance on or in

confirmation of the assertion of arguable intent contained within the report.

Furthermore, the CRS report does not express the proposition that the

CARES Act requires 30 days’ notice for all covered dwelling evictions. Indeed, it

does not state or present argument or analysis that such is the correct—and

only—interpretation of section 4024. Rather, it merely declares that it is arguable

whether the CARES Act does as much. That an interpretation of a statute is

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No. 85031-8-I/20

arguable does not signify that it is correct, accurate, or even creates ambiguity.

Smith, 22 Wn. App. 2d at 507 (a statute is not ambiguous merely because of

different conceivable interpretations (quoting Bennett, 166 Wn. App. at 483-84)).

In the end, the report merely sets forth a postenactment interpretation of Section

4024 that an argument that could be made for a broader interpretation thereof.

As analyzed herein, such an interpretation does not withstand closer scrutiny.

Thus, the CRS report does not reflect Congress’s intent, expressly endorse a

broader interpretation of Section 4024, or align with text and statutory context of

the CARES Act. Accordingly, the CRS report is unpersuasive.

Furthermore, if we were to consider the CRS report, we would also

consider Congress’s enactments in the months following the passage of the

CARES Act. As discussed below, we find those enactments to be a more

reliable basis for legislative intent than the CRS report.

As set forth above, in March 2020, the 116th Congress passed the