The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), formed in 1974 with bipartisan
Congressional support and the endorsement of the Nixon Administration,
was created to ensure that all Americans have access to a lawyer
and the justice system for civil legal issues regardless of their
ability to pay. The LSC provides direct grants to independent local
legal services programs chosen through a system of competition.
The Corporation currently funds approximately 172 local programs
serving every county, state and Congressional District in the United
States and its territories. These local programs provide direct
services to more than one million constituents who struggle to get
by on incomes below or near the poverty line as established by the
Department of Health and Human Services. LSC clients include the
working poor, veterans, family farmers and people with disabilities.
Many beneficiaries of LSC funding were formerly middle-class, who
became poor because of age, disaster, unemployment, illness or the
breakup of a family. Historically, more than two-thirds of legal
aid clients have been women, most of them mothers with young children.
Many victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks have received
assistance from LSC-funded programs, including family members of
victims in need of help with social security survivor benefits,
landlord/tenant issues, child custody and guardianship issues, emergency
public assistance, and many other matters.
LSC has been operating since 1980 without a renewed authorization.
It continues to exist by virtue of its annual appropriation. Beginning
in 1995, LSC became the target of a vocal minority in Congress vowing
to eliminate the program. For FY 96, Congress cut LSC's budget from
$400 million to $278 million and restricted the types of cases and
clients legal services offices could take. Each year over the next
five years, the House Appropriations Committee proposed slashing
LSC's budget to $141 million. Five years in a row, funding was partially
restored with strong bipartisan support during floor consideration
of the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) appropriations bill. Full
funding was always restored and sometimes increased during subsequent
negotiations with the Senate and the White House. By FY 01, LSC
was funded at $329.3 million. In 2001, the new Bush Administration
announced its strong support for the program, asking Congress to
fund LSC at $329.3 million for FY 02. For the first time in six
years, the House Appropriations CJS Subcommittee fully funded LSC
and Congress ultimately passed LSC’s FY 02 appropriation of
$329.3 million without controversy or debate.
Today, while LSC enjoys bipartisan Congressional support and the
support of the Bush Administration, securing adequate funding remains
a challenge due to emerging budget deficits and the focus on the
war on terrorism.
Current Status
Appropriations
For FY 03, the Bush Administration requested $329.3 million for
LSC, a figure that represents level funding from FY 02 and FY 01.
The Bush Administration’s FY 03 budget request
for LSC includes $310 million for basic field programs; $13.3
million for Management and Administration; $2.6 million for Office
of the Inspector General; and $3.4 million for client self-help
and information technology.
The Administration’s request reallocates money within the Corporation
to reduce by $1 million funding for client self help and information
technology. The Inspector General's Office would see an increase
of $100,000 and the management/administration line item would receive
an additional $900,000. Funding for basic field programs would remain
at $310 million. The restrictions included in previous appropriations
laws would continue.
The ABA recommends funding LSC at $478 million, which represents
LSC’s FY 95 funding ($415 million) adjusted for inflation. Recognizing
the budget constraints due to the emerging deficits and the war
on terrorism, the ABA urges Congress to increase LSC’s funding to
$478 million over a three-year period and fund LSC at no less than
$375 million for FY 03. The ABA’s recommendations support the efforts
of a group of Senators who on April 19, 2002, wrote the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State to ask the Subcommittee
to fund LSC at $375 million.
Neither the House nor Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittees
held hearings on the LSC FY 03 budget request. On July 15, 2003,
the ABA wrote
Senate appropriators to urge the Committee to increase funding for
LSC to $375 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee marked
up the CJS appropriations bill on July 18, 2002. The bill, S.
2778, includes $329.397 million for LSC, a $97,000 increase.
During the markup, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) offered, then withdrew,
an amendment to increase LSC's funding by $19 million, an amount
necessary to eliminate grant reductions to states whose poverty
populations have declined per the results of the 2000 census. During
the debate on the amendment, Subcommittee Chairman Ernest Hollings
(D-SC) promised to continue to work with Sen. Harkin to increase
LSC's appropriation to prevent any funding cuts.
There was no comparable House bill, as neither its CJS Subcommittee
nor full Appropriations Committee took any action on the CJS appropriations
bill. The 107th Congress adjourned without completing 11 of the
13 FY 2003 appropriations bills, instead enacting a series of continuing
resolutions that ultimately extended the FY 2002 funding level through
January 11, 2003. Pending enactment of the FY 2003 funding bill,
the Corporation has already adjusted the amount of its grants to
reflect the changes in the poverty population. Those states whose
poverty populations have declined have in many cases already received
significant funding cuts.
The 108th Congress convened on January 7, 2003. On January 9, 2003,
the new Congress passed its first Continuing Resolution, H.J Res.
1, which will fund the government through January 31, 2003. Also,
on January 9, 2003, Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee on Commerce, Justice, State, introduced the FY
2003 CJS appropriations bill. The $41.1 billion bill includes
$329.3 million for LSC, which represents flat funding from FY 2002.
House and Senate appropriators nevertheless are continuing a bipartisan
effort to increase LSC's funding by at least $19 million to assist
states that lost funding due to a national shift in poverty population
as recorded by the 2000 census. Congress is expected to finalize
FY 2003 appropriations before the President's January 28, 2003 State
of the Union Address.
Oversight
On February 28, 2002, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial
and Administrative Law held an oversight
hearing regarding LSC. Jonathan Ross, chair of the ABA’s Standing
Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, testified
on behalf of the ABA and told the Subcommittee that LSC is a well-managed
entity that is serving the basic needs of the poor. However, despite
the combined efforts of the private bar and LSC-funded programs,
only 20 percent of the legal needs of the poor are being met; LSC
deserves their continued support.
Following the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Bob Barr (R-GA) and
Vice-Chairman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) wrote the General Accounting Office
(GAO) to request a report on several of the issues addressed by
LSC President John Erlenborn during the hearing. On May 31, 2002,
the GAO formally initiated a review of LSC operations. A final report
is not expected until Spring 2003. (On August 20, 2002, Chairman
Barr was defeated in the Republican primary by Representative John
Linder (R-GA), thus assuring a new chair for this Subcommittee in
the next Congress.)
Board Nominations
The LSC is governed by an 11-person bipartisan Board of Directors,
nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Douglas
Eakeley of New Jersey is the Chair and LaVeeda Morgan Battle of
Alabama is the Vice-Chair. Former Congressman John Erlenborn (R-IL)
serves as LSC’s President. This Board will continue to serve until
President Bush nominates and the Senate confirms new Board members.
The nominations expired at the end of the 107th Congress. President
Bush is expected to nominate these same six individuals during the
opening days of the 108th Congress.
On April 9, 2002, President Bush forwarded to the Senate the names
of five Republican nominees. On November 13, 2002 the President
indicated his intention to nominate a sixth. The remaining five
Democratic nominees have not been named. The Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is responsible for confirming
nominees to this Board. The ABA – pursuant to longstanding
procedures – will conduct an
evaluation of the nominees’ qualifications and commitment
to the program and will submit its views to the Senate.
ABA Policy
The ABA supports a strong, federally funded, community controlled
program to provide legal aid for the poor. The ABA favors substantial
private bar involvement in the delivery of legal services and actively
encourages pro bono participation by individual attorneys, law firms,
and corporate general counsels.
Key Points
- The need for legal services for poor
Americans has never been greater; over 80% of the civil legal
needs of the poor are not being met.
- LSC is a fundamentally conservative
program, one that facilitates the peaceful resolution of disputes
and reinforces respect for the rule of law.
- LSC was "reformed" by Congress in 1996.
The Corporation is vigorously enforcing the restrictions passed
by Congress and is working aggressively to ensure all programs
that receive federal funds comply with all existing laws.
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Last Updated: January 2, 2003
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