Jim Ramstad: “I join my colleagues from Pennsylvania and West Virginia in sponsoring this amendment to prevent the drastic 50% cut in…”

“I join my colleagues from Pennsylvania and West Virginia in sponsoring this amendment to prevent the drastic 50% cut in Legal Service Corporation funding. Without adequate funding for Legal Services, our poorest, most vulnerable citizens will be unable to have legal representation in civil matters. "Equal Justice Under Law," which Americans read every day across the street on the Supreme Court building, will be empty words. This proposed 50% cut, to $141 million, follows a 33% reduction in FY 1996, and no increases in FY 1997 or FY 1998. This amendment would be a great improvement from the current level in the bill, but it still represents a $33 million cut from last year's appropriation. In my home state, severe cuts in LSC funds have ready meant that tens of thousands of Minnesotans who needed legal help had to be turned away. Because of reduced funding, Legal Services in Minnesota closes 4,000 fewer cases each year. Legal services in my state is struggling in spite of generous support from state and private sources. In Minnesota, over 3,000 attorneys already donated over 30,000 hours of legal services--worth over $3.5 million--each year. Minnesota lawyers pay an extra $50 in their annual licensing fee to support legal services. Individual lawyers and firms currently contribute over $500,000 each year.”