Tom Harkin: “This amendment that I offered would be to provide for loan forgiveness for young attorneys who go into civil legal…”

“This amendment that I offered would be to provide for loan forgiveness for young attorneys who go into civil legal practice, legal services. Now, the Durbin amendment provides for loan guarantees for those going into prosecution, or I should say criminal work, prosecuting attorneys, district attorney's offices, that type of thing, which is fine. But we also need them for civil legal attorneys, those who are going into legal services. They make the bottom of the ladder. I mean, even the district attorney's offices pay them more than legal services. So I think it is needed in both areas. Right now, with the costs of law school and with the need we have for legal services attorneys, this amendment is drastically needed. Right now, about 50 percent of the people eligible for legal services, which means they had household income for a family of four of $25,800 or less--$25,000 a year or less--only 50 percent of them were able to get help from a legal aid program. Estimates are that closer to 80 percent of low-income Americans have unmet civil legal needs. Right now there is 1 legal aid attorney for 6,800 low-income Americans.”