Vermont Business MagazineHighlighting the need for legal services in rural andlow-income communities across the country, Attorney General Donovan today joined abipartisan group of 32 attorneys general in urging Congress to oppose the TrumpAdministration’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
Attorney General Donovan said: “For more than a half-century legal services for low-income Americans have represented a critical anti-poverty element of our legal landscape. Legalservices funding provides greater access to justice for those that do not otherwise haverepresentation. That is why funding for the Legal Services Corporation is essential and why wecall on Congress to oppose reductions to an historically bi-partisan commitment to legal servicesfor the poor.”
“The Legal Services Corporation is vital to creating access to justice for low-incomeVermonters,” said Sam Abel-Palmer, Director of Legal Services Law Line of Vermont, whichreceives LSC funding. “The Legal Services Corporation helps thousands of Vermonters everyyear to maintain safe and stable housing, keep their families economically secure, protectthemselves from domestic violence, and understand their legal rights,” he said. Abel-Palmernoted that without LSC funding, Law Line could not operate the Vermont Law Help hotline andweb site, which provides legal information and assistance to more than 100,000 Vermonters eachyear. “In sum, LSC funding is a small investment that pays enormous dividends for everyoneacross the state, as we work to fulfill the promise of justice for all.”
The letter, sent today to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of RepresentativesAppropriations Committees, notes that for more than 40 years, under Republican and Democraticadministrations, the LSC has helped residents across the nation to access justice.LSC funding helps veterans and military families secure important benefits, it supportssurvivors of domestic violence seeking safety, and it assists families facing foreclosure andvictims of natural disasters.
LSC funding also fosters longstanding public-private partnerships between legal aidorganizations and private firms and attorneys nationwide who donate their time and skills toassist low-income residents in our states.
The letter was signed by the Attorneys General of Alaska, American Samoa, California,Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky,Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, NewHampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon,Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.