President Recommends $435 Million Budget for LSC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C.-The Legal Services Corporation would receive $435 million in Fiscal Year 2010 under the budget sent to Congress by the Obama Administration today, an increase of $45 million. Most of the proposed budget, $410.4 million, would provide for the delivery of civil legal services to low-income individuals and families across the nation.

The White House budget recommendation includes funding for technology grants, for an education loan repayment program to help programs recruit and retain lawyers, for Management & Grants Oversight to ensure improved accountability and compliance by 137 nonprofit programs that receive federal funding through LSC, and for the Office of Inspector General.

The LSC Board of Directors has asked Congress to provide an appropriation of $485.8 million for Fiscal Year 2010. Of that amount, 95 percent, or $460 million, would be distributed as basic field grants that provide for civil legal aid.

LSC is the single largest provider of civil legal aid for the poor in the nation. Established by Congress in 1974, LSC operates as a private, nonprofit organization to promote equal access to justice and to provide high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.