House Appropriations Committee Approves Bill Providing a Record $675 Million for Civil Legal Aid

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WASHINGTON— The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations last night approved funding legislation that includes $675 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in FY 2023. LSC 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 LSC 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 LSC 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 LSC’s budget request of $1.26 billion for FY 2023. LSC’s 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; LSC’s recent Justice Gap study shows that 92% of the civil legal problems confronting low-income Americans receive no or inadequate assistance. 

However, LSC had the highest percent increase of any CJS account at 38%. This is the second year in a row that LSC has been singled out in this way; the average increase for other agencies included in the CJS bill was 15%.