[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SALUTING THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMITTEES OF THE AMERICAN BAR 
                              ASSOCIATION

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the Access to 
Justice Committees of the American Bar Association from States all over 
the Nation and, particularly, my constituents that I just met with, the 
chair of the Access to Justice Committee, Judge Lindsey, and a number 
of others who have come to join us to again emphasize that when 
lawyers, as myself, take our oath of office and become members of the 
bar, we have an obligation and a duty to public service. That public 
service is to ensure that every American under the Constitution has 
access to justice, and to insist that they're able to be represented 
and their legal rights protected.
  I beg that this House accept the $402 million that is the Senate mark 
for Access to Justice programs, and not the $328 million that is the 
House mark. Shame on us if we realize that more and more laws are 
complex, more and more Americans suffer, more and more Americans need 
help, more and more Americans are under foreclosure over the years. And 
even though we have worked hard in this government to restore those 
homes, they need legal rights. Let us support the funding for Access to 
Justice.

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