[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1542-E1543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
                   AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                             HON. RON WYDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2076) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 
     State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 1996, and for other purposes:

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to thank the 179 Members of 
this body who signed on to my letter asking Speaker Gingrich to 
preserve the Legal Services Corporation [LSC]. Additionally, I would 
like to thank those Members--Amo Houghton, Stephen Horn, David Skaggs, 
Howard Berman, Jack Reed, and Connie Morella, among others--who 
personally talked to other Members of Congress to help stave off 
further cuts to the Legal Services Corporation.
  Legal services is literally the last line of defense against 
destitution for many deserving Americans. Last year, LSC-funded 
programs provided assistance to over 50,000 women seeking protection 
against abusive spouses, 240,000 elderly seeking help ranging from 
fraud to Medicare, 2,600 veterans seeking help with veteran's benefits, 
and 9,000 abused and neglected children. There are many in this country 
who would find themselves trapped in disastrous often life-threatening 
situations were it not for legal services attorneys.
  I would also like to make several points about the contention that 
the private bar could somehow replace legal services attorneys. I began 
my career in public service running the Oregon Legal Services Program 
for the elderly. I came away from my experience with a strong belief 
that there is a critical role for the private sector to play in 
providing legal assistance to the poor.
  During the time I worked with Legal Services, I organized hundreds of 
private attorneys to assist in expanding access to the courts for 

[[Page E 1543]]
the elderly. Today, 250 private attorneys donate time to the senior law 
centers in Oregon. In Portland last year, these attorneys donated 1,640 
hours. More than 1,000 lawyers in Oregon, and 130,000 lawyers 
nationwide participate in pro bono activities organized by legal 
services programs.
  However, I know most of the attorneys I worked with would agree that 
in spite of their hard work, they could not even begin to fill the 
shoes of the legal services attorneys who could give full time 
attention to the problems of seniors. The American Bar Association 
estimates that less than 20 percent of the legal needs of the poor are 
met. Even with current funding and massive involvement by the private 
sector, LSC-funded programs are forced to turn away 43 percent of 
eligible clients. Most legal aid programs turn away women in divorce 
cases unless they are in danger of their lives from an abuser, and they 
turn away eviction cases unless the family will go homeless.
  Second, the legal problems of the poor, and in my experience, 
particularly the poor elderly, often require a depth of expertise and a 
time commitment that is rarely available on a pro bono basis by private 
attorneys.
  Cases that legal service lawyers take up for older Americans range 
from navigating the bureaucratic maze of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social 
Security to working through problems with consumer fraud, age 
discrimination, pension income, property assessments, and wills and 
probate.
  The fact of the matter about legal services is that in most 
communities they are the only knowledgeable advocate for poor people 
who find themselves up against a convoluted Federal bureaucracy or 
abusive members of their family or community. For every anecdote about 
a legal services attorney taking up a questionable case, there are a 
thousand where they helped a poor person just get a fair shake.
  Again, I would like to thank the many Members of Congress who 
recognized the importance of legal services in ensuring this country 
provides equal justice for all, and fought to ensure the continuance of 
this program.
  The Members who signed onto my letter are the following: Stephen 
Horn, Amo Houghton, Frank Pallone, Jim Moran, Tim Johnston, Miller, 
Barbara-Rose Collins, Sherrod Brown, Mike Ward, John Spratt, Jose 
Serrano, Dick Gephardt, Sam Gibbons, Robert Toricelli, Robert Menendez, 
Louis Stokes, Ronald Dellums, Charles Rangel, Charles Schumer, Owen 
Pickett, Harold Ford, Nita Lowey, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Sam Farr, Andy 
Jacobs, Elizabeth Furse, Howard Berman, John Baldacci, Rick Boucher, 
Bobby Rush, Bob Clement, Bobby Scott, Jim Fox, Peter Torkildsen, John 
Edward Porter, Glen Poshard, James Leach, Alan Mollohan, Jerry 
Costello, Jim Chapman, Karen Thurman, Bruce Vento, Martin Frost, 
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Nancy Johnson, Maxine Waters, Michael Forbes, 
Albert Wynn, Corrine Brown, Sherwood Boehlert, John Dingell, Robert 
Matsui, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Cynthia McKinney, Jack Quinn, Earl 
Hilliard, Sanford, Bishop, Rick Lazio, Marcy Kaptur, Steven Schiff, 
Floyd Flake, Scotty Baesler, Tony Beilenson, Anna Eshoo, Earl Pomeroy, 
Gary Ackerman, Carolyn Maloney, Tim Roemer, Martin Olav Sabo, John 
Olver, William Clay, Zoe Lofgren, Eva Clayton, Cardiss Collins, Ben 
Cardin, Barney Frank, Rosa DeLauro, Bob Borski, Sidney Yates, L.F. 
Payne, Eliot L. Engel, Louise Slaughter, Steny Hoyer, Karen McCarthy, 
Dale Kildee, Neil Abercrombie, Bob Filner, Peter Deutsch, Tom 
Foglietta, Peter DeFazio, Richard Neal, Patsy Mink, Lynn Rivers, James 
Traficant, Bill Luther, Nick Rahall, Paul McHale, Jane Harman, Henry 
Gonzalez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chaka Fattah, Carrie P. Meek, John 
Lewis, Pete Peterson, William Coyne, Harry Johnston, Pete Stark, Norm 
Dicks, Pat Williams, David Bonior, Vic Fazio, Robert Andrews, William 
Jefferson, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Peter Visclosky, Bart Stupak, Maurice 
Hinchey, Jack Reed, Paul Kanjorsky, Martin Meehan, Norman Mineta, 
Sheila Jackson-Lee, Thomas Barrett, Jerrold Nadler, Bill Richardson, 
Esteban Torres, Bernard Sanders, Lloyd Doggett, Thomas Sawyer, Tony 
Hall, Ken Bentsen, David Skaggs, Harold Volkmer, Gerald Kleczka, Norman 
Sisisky, Ed Pastor, Sam Gejdenson, James Clyburn, Nancy Pelosi, Bob 
Wise, Luis Gutierrez, Kweisi Mfume, Jim McDermott, Ron Coleman, Barbara 
Kennelly, Melvin Watt, Patrick Kennedy, Xavier Becerra, George Brown, 
Alcee Hastings, Chet Edwards, Lynn Woolsey, Ed Markey, Henry Waxman, 
Walter Tucker, Dick Durbin, Pat Schroeder, Gerry Studds, Tom Manton, Ed 
Towns, Major Owens, Julian Dixon, John Bryant, Lane Evans, Jim 
Oberstar, Joe Kennedy, David Minge, Nydia Velazquez, Lee Hamilton, 
Connie Morella, Frank Riggs, Solomon Ortiz, Frank Tejeda, Ray Thornton, 
Donald Payne, Christopher Shays, Ben Thompson, Blanche Lincoln.
  In addition, Representative Hal Rogers, chairman of the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary, 
made clear early on that he would not support the elimination of the 
Legal Services Corporation and for that, and for his patience and 
kindness, we are grateful.


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