[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, AND JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
                   AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 3, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4276) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 
     State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes:

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the 
amendment, which would restore funding for the Legal Services 
Corporation to current levels.
  The Legal Services Corporation is a lifeline for thousands of people 
with no other means of access to the legal system. Last year, LSC 
resolved 1.5 million civil cases, benefiting over four million indigent 
citizens from every county in America.
  Who are these people? Over two-thirds are women, and most are mothers 
with children. Women seeking protection against abusive spouses. 
Children living in poverty and neglect. Elderly people threatened by 
eviction or victimized by consumer fraud. Veterans denied benefits, and 
small farmers facing foreclosure.
  These are the people who will be hurt if this amendment is not 
adopted today. If LSC is forced to absorb the huge cuts made in 
committee, half of the 1,100 neighborhood legal services offices will 
have to be closed. This will leave a single lawyer to serve every 
23,600 poor Americans. Over 700,000 people in need of legal services 
will have to be turned away.
  We cannot--we must not--allow this to happen. I urge my colleagues to 
vote for this amendment. It's the decent thing to do.

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