[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8108-H8109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUPPORT INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

  (Mrs. LOWEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for 
the Legal Services Corp. The funding cuts contained in the Commerce-
Justice-State appropriations bill that we are considering today will 
force the Legal Services Corp. to abandon many of the critical legal 
services that it provides to poor women, particularly victims of 
domestic violence.
  in 1995, legal services programs handled over 59,000 cases in which 
clients sought legal protection from abusive spouses and over 9,300 
cases involving neglected, abused, and dependent juveniles. In fact, 
family law--which includes domestic violence cases--makes up one-third 
of the 1.7 million cases handled by legal services programs each year.
  Let me tell my colleagues the story of one women who received help 
from a legal services program. To escape an abusive husband, this woman 
took her three children and fled to Texas. The husband followed her, 
beat her up, and held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her.

[[Page H8109]]

  Let us support the increase for legal services. Let us not cut it for 
women like this one.

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