The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has been operating since 1980 without a renewed authorization. It continues to exist by virtue of its annual appropriation. Beginning in 1995, LSC became the target of a vocal minority in Congress vowing to eliminate the program. For FY 96, Congress cut LSC's budget from $400 million to $278 million and restricted the types of cases and clients legal services offices could take. In 1998, for the third year in a row, the House Appropriations Committee proposed slashing LSC's budget to $141 million. Again, for the third year in a row, funding was partially restored to $250 million by the Mollohan/Fox amendment on a strong bipartisan vote during floor consideration of the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) appropriations bill. At the same time, the Senate recommended funding LSC at $300 million for FY 99. During last-minute negotiations on the FY 99 omnibus appropriations bill, P.L. 105-277 (H.R. 4328), the White House and Congressional leadership agreed to fund LSC at the Senate-approved level of $300 million, a $17 million increase over FY 98.

For FY 2000, both the LSC and the Administration requested $340 million, the same amount requested for FY 99. Of that amount, $17 million was designated for initiatives on domestic violence and the unmet legal needs of children, and another $12 million was earmarked for client self-help and information technology.

On March 3, 1999, LSC officials testified before the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee in support of the Corporation's FY 2000 budget request. In their testimony, LSC Board Chair Douglas Eakeley, Vice-Chair John Erlenborn, and President John McKay stressed the overwhelming need for legal services for the poor. LSC-funded programs are the nation's primary source of legal assistance for low-income women who are victims of domestic violence, and two-thirds of all legal services' clients are women, most of them with children. While Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) announced he was generally pleased with the progress being made at LSC under President John McKay's leadership, Rep. Rogers stressed that the budget caps mandated by the 1997 Balanced Budget Act would once again require tough choices on how to allocate scarce resources. Doreen Dodson, chair of the ABA's Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, submitted written testimony to the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee recommending funding LSC at $400 million for FY 2000.

A few Members of Congress continue to vocally oppose funding for LSC. Following the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing held on March 3, 1999, LSC's House opponents, led by Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), renewed their attack on LSC and circulated several "Dear Colleague" letters criticizing LSC's Washington management and its local programs. Reps. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) and William Delahunt (D-MA) responded with their own bipartisan "Dear Colleague" letter and LSC issued fact sheets addressing concerns raised by Congressman Armey.

On May 3, 1999, Rep. Armey and four other Members asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to audit LSC and its five largest programs. Preliminary results on these audits indicated problems with case reporting and eligibility documentation. Prior to the GAO audit, LSC had identified similar problems on its own and had already initiated steps to update its case reporting system and to provide more guidance to its grantees.

At a September 29, 1999 oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, the GAO presented its final report. Witnesses confirmed that no fraud, misuse of federal money, or deliberate over-counting of cases had occurred. GAO made several recommendations for improving the accuracy of LSC's case reporting statistics, which the LSC plans to adopt. ABA witness John H. Pickering testified in support of the LSC.

Despite these attacks against LSC, bipartisan support for the program remains strong. However, on July 22, 1999, the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee, under pressure from House leadership, slashed funding for LSC to $141 million for the fourth year in a row. The House Appropriations Committee marked up the bill on July 30, 1999 and, as expected, did not increase LSC's funding.

On August 4, 1999, during House floor consideration of the CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 2670, Reps. Jose Serrano (D-NY), Ramstad (R-MN), and Delahunt (D-MA) offered the annual amendment to restore funding for LSC. The Serrano/Ramstad/Delahunt amendment passed with strong bipartisan support, 242-178, and restored $109 million to LSC's FY 2000 budget. As in past years, amendment sponsors were unable to find sufficient offsets to restore funding beyond $250 million.

The Senate did not hold hearings on LSC's FY 2000 budget request. ABA President Philip S. Anderson wrote the Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee on June 7, 1999 and urged the Subcommittee to fund LSC at no less than $340 million for FY 2000. On June 9, 1999, the Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee recommended funding LSC at $300 million for FY 2000 and continuing the restrictions first imposed in 1996. On June 10, 1999, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Subcommittee's recommendation. By voice vote on July 22, 1999, the Senate approved the CJS appropriations bill, S. 1217, including $300 million for LSC.

In early October, ABA President William G. Paul and Seaborn Jones, President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, wrote the House and Senate conferees and their respective leadership, urging them to fund LSC at the Senate recommended level of $300 million.

On October 18, 1999, the House/Senate Conference Committee agreed to fund LSC at $300 million. Because of opposition to other provisions in the final version of the CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 2670, it barely passed the House by a 215-213 vote. On October 20, 1999, the Senate agreed to H.R. 2670 by unanimous consent and sent the measure to the President. As promised, the President vetoed H.R. 2670 on October 25, 1999, citing several problems, including insufficient funding for law enforcement programs and effectively no funding to pay the UN arrears. In his veto message, the President also requested full funding for LSC at $340 million.

Negotiations to resolve the differences in H.R. 2670, as well as four other vetoed appropriations bills, produced another year-end omnibus appropriations act, H.R. 3194. H.R. 3194 includes the vetoed CJS appropriations bill, renegotiated and renumbered as H.R. 3421. In final negotiations on the omnibus package, the President requested an additional $10 million for LSC, and Republican appropriators agreed to an additional $5 million, increasing the program's FY 2000 budget to $305 million. However, H.R. 3194 also includes a .38 percent across the board spending cut in all domestic discretionary programs. Since this cut affects LSC, LSC's net funding for FY 2000 will total approximately $303.9 million.

On November 18, 1999, the House passed H.R. 3194 by a 296-135 vote. After resolving several new controversies and avoiding a government shutdown, the Senate passed H.R. 3194 by a 74-24 vote on November 19, 1999 and sent the measure to the President for his signature. On November 29, 1999, the President signed H.R. 3194 into law, P.L. 106-113.

November 30, 1999

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