[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1537]
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. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    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:

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of Mr. Mollohan's 
amendment to increase funding for federal legal services. The Legal 
Services Corporation is a successful public-private partnership that 
enables the poor and indigent to gain access to the civil court system. 
Today, some of my colleagues are proposing to fund this cooperative 
effort at only $141 million dollars, 43% less than last year and less 
than half the level that it was funded at 18 years ago. Let me be clear 
on this point. If we do not vote for the Mollohan amendment--which 
restores the funding of the Legal Service Corporation to its present 
level--we will deal a viscious blow to equal justice.
  The truth is that Americans have long recognized the importance of 
fighting for the rights of people who cannot fight for themselves. Open 
and equal access to the courts is as old as the Republic itself. In 
criminal cases, defendants have been guaranteed the right to a court-
appointed attorney since ratification of the Sixth Amendment in 1791. 
And in civil cases, organized civil legal assistance began as early as 
1876, when the Legal Aid Society of New York first set up shop to 
protect the rights of New Yorkers.
  Opponents of increased funding for legal services say that legal aid 
groups work against the will of the people by using taxpayer dollars to 
wage the frivolous legal battles of drug dealers and the like. Not only 
are these claims greatly exaggerated, but I would add that Congress has 
a duty to legislate and appropriate, not play judge and jury. Citizens 
of this country have a constitutional right to access the courts and to 
have their claims decided on their merits. The Constitution grants 
equal protection under the law to all people, providing no exceptions 
for those who are unpopular. By defunding legal services, we are saying 
that our justice is only available to those who can afford it.
  In my district, the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver recently 
closed the case of a 74 year old nursing home resident who has suffered 
from heart failure, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary 
disease, emphysema, coronary artery disease and chronic mood disorder. 
Needless to say, this gentleman requires special care 24 hours a day. 
He has a spouse, but she is herself a survivor of two cancer-related 
surgeries and has recently been instructed by a doctor not to let 
stress exacerbate her condition. My constituent, the nursing home 
resident, was recently deemed ineligible for nursing home care by the 
state agency responsible for administering Medicaid. After a doctor 
advised the state agency that moving my constituent from a nursing home 
would be ``medically irresponsible,'' the state agency still did not 
change its decision. At this point, my constituent went to Legal Aid of 
Denver which represented him in an administrative law judge hearing. 
The state agency finally reversed its ruling and today my constituent 
is receiving the care that he needs and deserves.
  Mr. Chairman, this is one small case. I assure you that there are 
many more cases like this one pending around the country. And one year 
from now, as millions of people leave the welfare rolls because of 
newly imposed time-limits, we absolutely must have a legal system in 
place for the poor, for the homeless, and for those children and 
families who have nowhere else to turn.
  Take the Legal Services Corporation off the chopping block by voting 
yea on the Mollohan amendment.

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