Full House Votes to Increase °µÍø51's Budget by $28 Million
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC--Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the $28 million budget increase for the °µÍø51 (°µÍø51) included in the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) funding bill for FY 2008. This 8 percent increase, which would bring funding for the Corporation to a total of $377 million, would be °µÍø51's second consecutive increase and a $50 million gain over two years. °µÍø51 is an independent, non-profit Corporation created by the Congress in 1974 to promote equal access to justice and to provide high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.
Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, lauded the increase saying, "I also am pleased that the Legal Service Corporation is funded at a level $66 million higher than the President's request. All I can say about that is that it is about time."
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Chairman of the CJS Subcommittee, said about °µÍø51 funding, "If equal protection under the law means anything, it means equal access to the law."
In June, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a 12 percent or $41.4 million increase in the Corporation's budget for next year.
These proposed increases are, in part, recognition of °µÍø51's groundbreaking report, Documenting the Justice Gap: The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans, which was completed in September 2005. The Justice Gap Report documents that nationwide, for every eligible person helped by °µÍø51-funded programs, another is turned away. Fifty percent of those actually seeking help are turned away for one primary reason: lack of resources.
°µÍø51 President Helaine M. Barnett said, "I would like to thank Chairman Mollohan and Ranking Member Frelinghuysen for working to make this increase possible. An additional $28 million will allow legal aid programs throughout the country to serve thousands more low-income people faced with daunting civil legal problems."
The main source of funding for civil legal aid, °µÍø51 gives grants to independent, local programs--in 2007, 138 programs with more than 900 offices nationwide. Grants are awarded through a competitive process. The size of the grant is based on the number of people living in poverty in a given state or geographic service area.
°µÍø51's bipartisan, 11-member Board of Directors is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate.