I congratulate the Legal Services Corporation for all it has accomplished in the past 30 years to make access to the legal system a reality to those who can’t afford it. The Corporation has more than exceeded the great expectations of all of us in Congress who voted to create it in 1974 and who continue to fight each year for the funds it needs to keep the doors of justice open to everyone. It makes no sense for Congress to leave local legal aid offices struggling year after year to meet the growing demand for legal services.

The Corporation still hasn’t fully recovered from the severe funding cuts made by the Gingrich Congress in 1996, which forced over a hundred legal aid offices across the nation to close, even though the number of persons in poverty continued to go up. The number of Americans eligible for this federal aid is now at an all-time high. It only creates greater hardships and greater dependency on other government programs when people are turned away and their legal problems involving family relationships, domestic violence, health, employment, and housing are left unresolved.

In spite of the obvious unmet need, it’s still very inspiring to know that so many of our fellow citizens have benefited from the Corporation’s good works over the past 30 years and that the Corporation continues to live up to its ideals so well. The legal services community deserves better from Congress and the White House, and I’ll do my best in coming years to see that Uncle Sam upholds his end of the contract.