[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S2940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DICK HALLIBURTON

 Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I ask the Senate to join me 
today in honoring Dick Halliburton, an accomplished advocate at Legal 
Aid of Western Missouri. He has fought tirelessly for 38 years for the 
rights of low-income Missourians, first as a Legal Aid of Western 
Missouri, LAWMO, attorney and for the last 20 years as LAWMO's 
executive director. During his time as executive director, LAWMO's 
staff has represented clients in more than 250,000 cases--obtaining 
thousands of protective orders for victims of domestic violence, 
preventing thousands of unlawful evictions, obtaining safe and 
affordable public and federally subsidized housing for thousands of 
families; and obtaining Medicaid, SSI and other public benefits for 
thousands of Missourians.
  His work has empowered low-income people throughout western Missouri, 
by giving them the means to assert and protect their legal rights in 
court. Without his leadership, many low-income people throughout 
Western Missouri would not have had meaningful access to the civil 
justice system.
  Dick has worked for years as a governor of the Missouri bar to 
advocate for the interest of low-income people. This work has 
encouraged the bar to provide direct funding for Missouri's legal 
services programs and to advocate for State funding for legal services, 
which the programs now receive.
  He has led LAWMO through many difficult challenges. Through it all, 
he has maintained the integrity of the program and made sure that LAWMO 
continues to provide high quality legal services that meet its clients' 
needs.
  Dick has greatly increased private donations, grants and other non-
LSC funding for the program. When he began as executive director, LSC 
funding accounted for well over half of LAWMO's budget. Now it is 
barely a quarter of the organization's budget.
  Dick has trained and nurtured one of the most experienced and well-
respected groups of case handlers in any legal services program in the 
country, and those case handlers have achieved consistently high-
quality results for their clients.
  Dick's work takes into account the words and commitment to public 
service of Reginald Heber Smith, who in his book, ``Justice and the 
Poor,'' stated:

       Without equal access to the law, the system not only robs 
     the poor of their only protection, but it places it in the 
     hands of their oppressors the most powerful and ruthless 
     weapon ever created.

  In short, Dick Halliburton has made Missouri's justice system more 
accessible for low-income people and, in doing so, he has improved the 
lives of all Missourians. We are sincerely grateful for his 
work.

                          ____________________