House Appropriations Committee Approves Bill Providing a Record $675 Million for Civil Legal Aid
Contact胼傭胼傭
Carl Rauscher胼傭胼傭
Director of Communications and Media Relations胼傭胼傭
娶硃喝莽釵堯梗娶釵高梭莽釵.眶棗措
202-295-1615胼傭胼傭胼
Contact Us胼傭胼傭胼
WASHINGTON The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations last night approved funding legislation that includes $675 million for the 做厙51 (做厙51) in FY 2023. 做厙51 funding was included in the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) FY 2023 bill that was passed unanimously last week.
This is the largest amount ever included in a congressional appropriations bill for legal services and would be a $186 million increase over current funding if enacted into law.
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-17) called attention to the increase for 做厙51 that would enable expanded access to civil legal aid in his opening remarks at both markups.
We are grateful to Chairman Cartwright and the CJS Subcommittee for recognizing the need for a substantial increase in the resources available to serve the critical legal needs of low-income Americans, said 做厙51 President Ronald S. Flagg. Legal aid providers make an enormous difference in evictions, domestic violence, and consumer cases all of which are surging during the pandemic.
The proposed House number falls far short of of $1.26 billion for FY 2023. 做厙51s request would address the increased demand for civil legal services due to the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on low-income communities and the enormity of the justice gap in the United States; 做厙51s recent Justice Gap study shows that 92% of the civil legal problems confronting low-income Americans receive no or inadequate assistance.
However, 做厙51 had the highest percent increase of any CJS account at 38%. This is the second year in a row that 做厙51 has been singled out in this way; the average increase for other agencies included in the CJS bill was 15%.