David Obey: “this amendment simply adds $25 million to the Legal Services Corporation, returning it to the 2003 level from which it…”

“this amendment simply adds $25 million to the Legal Services Corporation, returning it to the 2003 level from which it has fallen since that time. We have a bipartisan letter to Chairman Wolf from Ranking Member Mollohan signed by 160 Members of this House led by Representatives Ramstad and Delahunt, calling on the committee to restore funding for this program. This bill cuts LSC by $12.7 million below last year's level. LSC- funded programs are the Nation's primary source of legal assistance to women who are the victims of violence. Seventy-three percent of those seeking assistance under this program are women. This budget has declined from $400 million in 1996, and we are not even restoring it to that level. We are simply asking to restore $25 million of the massive cut that has occurred since that time. Because of the cuts already incurred by this program, 16 field offices have already been closed. I don't think we want to see any more of that. The offsets are very simple. We are taking $6.7 million from the Department of Justice general administration funds. The account is below the request, but the mark funds an 18 percent rent increase for management. We would secondly take the rest of the funding out of the Department of State Administration of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic and Consular Programs. The account includes a $76.9 million increase over the current year.…”