Copyright 1999 The Seattle Times Company
The
Seattle Times
July 06, 1999, Tuesday Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B4
LENGTH: 260 words
HEADLINE:
SUPPORT LEGAL SERVICES FOR POOR IN CIVIL CASES
BODY:
THERE oughta be a law against the way Legal Services Corp.
gets treated by Congress. A befuddled Republican majority that cannot meet
budget deadlines and mutters about being outfoxed by the Clinton administration,
always finds renewed vigor when it comes to pushing around tiny Legal Services.
This federally chartered organization offends by providing tax-subsidized legal
advice to low-income Americans who need help with family law, landlord-tenant
disputes, employment and wage claims, consumer complaints and the like.
Long a target, Legal Services was overhauled in 1995 and Congress
restricted certain types of activity, such as class-action suits and
representing undocumented aliens and prisoners.
Every budget cycle is
the same, with an agitated House committee slashing Legal Services funding, the
White House proposing increases and the Senate falling somewhere in between.
This year is no different, with the House recommending $ 141 million,
the Clinton administration asking for $ 340 and the Senate backing about $ 300
million, which is the high side of what Legal Services may get.
In the
Washington delegation, Democrats have been supportive, and so have individual
Republicans, such as Spokane Rep. George Nethercutt, a lawyer. Bellevue
Republican Jennifer Dunn ought to be a supporter for a program that matches the
values and ethics of her suburban district.
Legal Services is no more
radical than the concept of equal access to the law. The program has a history
of value-added public service worth supporting.
LOAD-DATE: July 7, 1999 
