The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved funding legislation on April 26, 2012 that provides $328 million for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in Fiscal Year 2013, a cut of $20 million from current levels.

The LSC 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 LSC, which is what the White House had recommended.

LSC funding was approximately $404 million in Fiscal Year 2011 before falling to $348 million in Fiscal Year 2012.

The National Legal Aid and Defender Association reported that CJS Subcommittee ranking member Chaka Fattah (D-PA) during his opening statement included LSC among "the programs we need to continue to work on" and for which "we need additional funding. . . . The LSC is important to me."

Similarly, full committee ranking member Norm Dicks (D-WA) singled out LSC for attention his opening statement saying:

"The Legal Services Corporation is also cut when it should be getting an increase. The recession has drastically increased the need for legal aid for those who can't afford it, and the Legal Services Corporation helps to ensure that access to justice is not limited to only those who can afford an attorney. Both the President and the other body recognize the need for additional funding - $402 million - for this program. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement at the end of this process that allows for this level of funding."

Most of LSC’s funding is used to support local nonprofit organizations via grants for the delivery of civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.