The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee proposed $566 million in funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) today in its markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) FY 2025 appropriations legislation. This figure represents a $6 million increase from LSC’s FY 2024 funding and matches the White House’s FY 2025 request.

Last month, the House Appropriations Committee marked up their CJS legislation and included a $71 million budget cut for LSC in FY 2025. Lowering LSC’s budget to the FY 2021 level of $489 million would greatly impair the 130 legal aid programs that receive LSC funding. These organizations serve low-income Americans facing critical issues such as evictions, natural disasters and domestic violence.

Increased funding for legal aid is critical for closing the justice gap. LSC grantees are facing year-after-year increases in demand for civil legal services due in large part to the pandemic’s lingering economic impact on low-income Americans. LSC’s 2022 Justice Gap report found a staggering deficit: LSC’s grantees must turn away half of eligible clients who seek civil legal services due to a lack of resources.

“We are grateful that the Senate Appropriations Committee recognizes the critical need for civil legal aid, and we thank Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray and Ranking Member Sen. Susan Collins for support that is needed to expand access to justice for low-income Americans everywhere,” said LSC President Ron Flagg.

“LSC and its grantees are not satisfied serving only half the eligible Americans who reach out for help,” Flagg continued. “Greater investment in civil legal aid is essential to ensure that families who are facing eviction, recovering from natural disasters or experiencing domestic abuse do not have to navigate the justice system alone.”

The Senate bill also makes permanent a provision lowering the required percentage of attorneys on the boards of LSC grantees from 60% to 33%. This greatly increases the legal aid organizations’ flexibility to add other subject-matter experts to their governing bodies such as fiscal and communications experts and community representatives.

LSC’s FY 2025 budget request calculates that to fully resolve the legal problems of low-income Americans who contact LSC grantees for assistance, it would need $1.749 billion of funding for the Basic Field programs of its grantees. Basic Field grants comprise more than 97% of LSC’s proposed budget. The full budget request also includes funds for important programs like Technology Initiative Grants, the Pro Bono Innovation Fund and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program for legal aid attorneys.