Washington Post Weighs in on Legal Services Restrictions

A July 13th editorial praises a Senate subcommittee for lifting restrictions on how legal services offices may use
non-federal funds and for giving legal services lawyers the right to
seek reimbursement of attorney's fees in litigation underwritten with
non-federal money. The Post urges the full Senate to go even further in pressing for sensible changes as well as full restoration of Legal Services Corporation funding.

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the subcommittee
that oversees legal aid funding, deserves credit for these latest
developments, which won bipartisan approval from committee members. The
full Senate is expected to vote on the bill before the August recess;
the Senate must reconcile its bill with one passed by the House this
year.

The Senate effort is preferable to the House version because it goes
further in freeing up legal aid lawyers, but it is not perfect. Legal
aid lawyers may not seek fees in cases funded with federal dollars — a
nonsensical restriction that prevents legal aid clinics from generating
more of their own revenue. The bill also would prohibit legal aid
lawyers from using even non-federal funds to represent clients in
abortion- or prison-related matters.

Senate lawmakers have thus far also not been as generous as their House
counterparts in setting the LSC's budget for fiscal 2010. Senators
anted up $400 million — $40 million less than the House and $35
million less than requested by President Obama. The Senate should move
closer to the House number, given the tremendous need for these
services and the fact that even the $440 million would essentially only
restore LSC's funding to what it was a decade ago.

Read the full editorial at The Washington Post's website (free registration required).