House Appropriations Committee Approves Bill Providing $328 Million for ¿ìèÊÓƵ
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee today approved funding legislation that provides $328 million for the ¿ìèÊÓƵ (¿ìèÊÓƵ) in Fiscal Year 2013, a cut of $20 million from current levels.
The ¿ìèÊÓƵ funding is contained in the 2013 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which calls for $51.1 billion in funding.
Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) announced that this bill will be the first to come to the House floor, on May 8.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) on April 18 approved funding legislation that provides $402 million for ¿ìèÊÓƵ, which is what the White House had recommended.
¿ìèÊÓƵ funding was approximately $404 million in Fiscal Year 2011 before falling to $348 million in Fiscal Year 2012.
Most of ¿ìèÊÓƵ’s funding is used to support local nonprofit organizations via grants for the delivery of civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.
Established by Congress in 1974, ¿ìèÊÓƵ is the single largest funder of civil legal assistance in the nation. ¿ìèÊÓƵ grants help address the civil legal needs of the elderly, victims of domestic violence, veterans seeking benefits to which they are entitled, persons with disabilities, tenants facing unlawful evictions, and other civil matters.
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