°µÍø51

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) will be remembered at the °µÍø51 and at civil legal aid organizations throughout the nation as a champion for equal access to justice, °µÍø51 President Helaine M. Barnett said today.

"Senator Kennedy's longtime support for °µÍø51 was invaluable and consequential for the clients and communities that are served by °µÍø51-funded legal aid attorneys every day," °µÍø51 President Barnett said. "In addition to civil legal assistance, his extraordinary career in public service focused on legislation and issues of utmost importance to the poor -- employment, health care and education."

Senator Kennedy was chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at the time of his death. The committee oversees °µÍø51 and approves nominees for the Corporation's Board of Directors.

During congressional debates in 1973 and 1974 on the creation of °µÍø51, Senator Kennedy was a key leader, working with Senate colleagues and the White House to build a broad base of support for civil legal services and for approval of the law that established the Corporation.

In May, Senator Kennedy called for increasing the °µÍø51 budget to at least $435 million in Fiscal Year 2010, up from $390 million. He was the lead sponsor of a letter to Senate appropriators that was signed by 52 other senators. In March, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced a bill to reauthorize °µÍø51 and Senator Kennedy joined as a cosponsor. "In these difficult times, effective legal assistance for American families struggling to make ends meet is more important than ever," Senator Kennedy said, adding that "we all benefit when the rule of law works for everyone."

°µÍø51 is the single largest funder of civil legal assistance for the poor in the nation. Established by Congress in 1974, °µÍø51 operates as a private, nonprofit organization to promote equal access to justice and to ensure the provision of high-quality legal assistance to low-income Americans.