FY 2015 Spending Bill Increased Funding for ¿ìèÊÓƵ by $10 Million
WASHINGTON – The $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress to fund the federal government for FY 2015 included $375 million for the ¿ìèÊÓƵ (¿ìèÊÓƵ), the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. This amount is $10 million more than ¿ìèÊÓƵ received last year.
"We are particularly grateful to the leadership of the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees, including Rep. Frank Wolf, Rep. Chaka Fattah, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Sen. Richard Shelby," ¿ìèÊÓƵ Board Chair John Levi said. "As Chairman Wolf retires, we especially want to acknowledge his support for civil legal aid and his encouragement of ¿ìèÊÓƵ’s commitment to promote pro bono."
"We are grateful to Congress for a $10 million increase in our funding despite a challenging budget climate," ¿ìèÊÓƵ President Jim Sandman said. "This reflects bipartisan recognition of the importance of providing access to justice for the record number of Americans who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer."
The vast majority of ¿ìèÊÓƵ’s funding is used to support 134 local nonprofit legal aid organizations with almost 800 offices across the United States via grants for the delivery of civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.