LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION REAUTHORIZATION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1979 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, CIVIL LIBERTIES, AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, The subcommittee met at 9:35 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room B-352, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Robert W. Kastenmeier (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Kastenmeier, Danielson, Gudger, and Moorhead. Also present: Gail Higgins Fogarty, counsel, and Joseph V. Wolfe, associate counsel. Mr. KASTENMEIER. Today the subcommittee will begin the first of 2 days of hearings on the reauthorization of the Legal Services Corporation. The second hearing will be next Thursday, September 27. The Corporation, which was created by Congress in 1974, has been the subject of several hearings by this subcommittee, which has worked cooperatively with it through the years. We have watched the Corporation grow since its Board of Directors first met in July 1975. We commend the Corporation, its staff, and the field programs for their many accomplishments. In 4 years the Corporation has worked carefully to expand and improve the delivery of civil legal justice in this country. The number of local legal services programs has increased from 258 in 1975 to 335 today. More importantly, the quality of these programs have improved in large part due to the increased funding for legal services. From a $70 million program-which had been frozen at that level for several years through to 1975-to a $300 million program in fiscal year 1980, the Federal Legal Services program has expanded dramatically. For the 30 million poor persons in this Nation, the Corporation's initial goal of minimum access of 2 attorneys for every 10,000 poor is about to be attained. This is a modest goal considering there are approximately 14 attorneys for every 10,000 persons in the entire United States. But for those persons living at and below the poverty level, that goal may mean that he or she will have a roof over his or her head, food to eat, and clothes to wear. For others, access to legal services may mean needed medical care or education. There is no doubt that this program must continue and expand. I am hopeful that the reauthorization bill can be a simple one. No legislation is perfect, but I believe that the present Legal Services Corporation Act, as we amended it in 1977, is a sound act. The critical need is to extend the authorization for appropriations for a period beyond September 30, 1980, which is the end of fiscal year 1980. Congress must also determine which funding levels are appropriate for each year. I hope the witnesses will assist us in this task. Our first two witnesses today will be representatives of the Legal Services Corporation. I would like to officially welcome its new President, Mr. Dan Bradley. I have personally met Mr. Bradley and know that he brings to the Corporation a background of dedication and commitment to the delivery of legal services to the poor, combining the varied experiences of a legal services staff attorney with that of an administrator in the Corporation and its predecessor agency-the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). He was among the many hard-working individuals who were instrumental in enacting the legislation which created the Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation. The independence of the Corporation has been necessary to insure that legal services will be delivered consistent with professional judgment and not dependent upon political whims. I would also note that Mr. Bradley brings additional administrative talents gained as the director of Pari-Mutuel Wagering in Florida. The second Corporation witness is a member of its Board of Directors, F. William McCalpin, who is an attorney in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. McCalpin has appeared before this subcommittee in October 1975 when we held our first hearing on the Corporation. At that time he was the chairman of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants. After the Corporation witnesses testify we will hear from Jerome Shestack, a private attorney in Philadelphia, who is now chairman of the same ABA committee which Mr. McCalpin once chaired. Our last witness today will be Mr. Bernard Veney, the executive director of the National Clients Council. The council has an important role in assuring the accountability of legal services programs to their clients. Mr. Veney has been helpful to this subcommittee on the subject of legal services and on other issues relating to the poor. I am pleased to have such a distinguished list of witnesses, and would like to now welcome our first two witnesses from the Corporation-President Bradley and Mr. McCalpin. LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION PANEL: TESTIMONY OF DAN J. BRADLEY, PRESIDENT; F. WILLIAM McCALPIN, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS; CLINT LYONS, DIRECTOR OF FIELD SERVICES; AND MARY BOURDETTE, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Mr. McCALPIN. Thank you very much. My name is F. William McCalpin. I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation. Ms. Hillary Rodham, Chairman of our Board, extends her warm regards to Chairman Kastenmeier, Congressman Railsback, and the other distinguished members of the committee. She asked me to express her disappointment at not being able to be here today. As a result of her private practice, she is currently engaged in pressing litigation. She does have to do things sometimes other than be Chairman of the Corporation. I am a practicing attorney in St. Louis, Mo., a past president of the Missouri Legal Aid Society, and was a member of the National Advisory Committee to the OEO Legal Services program during the entire period of existence of that committee. When I was chairman of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, I had the opportunity again to share · with you some of the insight and experience I have gained over the years. As you know, the Board of Directors of the Corporation is an 11person body appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. We are, by law, a bipartisan group, composed of attorneys and clients of varying backgrounds and experiences, yet sharing a deep and common concern for the provision of high quality civil legal assistance to the poor. We are charged with responsibility for establishing broad Corporation policy and overseeing its operations, and like you, we take these oversight responsibilities very seriously. You can rest assured that the Corporation receives close and continuing scrutiny by its Board of Directors. On several occasions, the Board has discussed at great length the congressional reauthorization process. In consideration of our future funding needs, we have respectfully requested that Congress provide the Legal Services Corporation an authorization for appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to support our program in the 1981, 1982, and 1983 fiscal years. Such an authorization will allow us the flexibility to develop annual budget requests that support the financial needs of our program. As you know, the Legal Services Corporation submits its annual budget request directly to Congress for consideration by the Budget and Appropriations Committees. It is also important for you to know that our annual budget requests are adopted by the Board of Directors only after a thorough and careful examination of the funding needs of the legal services community. In effect, the Board goes through its own appropriations process-where legal services attorneys, clients, and Corporation staff provide detailed presentations in open meetings, scheduled with advance notice to all interested persons. We have gone through that process in the past month, first at the staff level, then at the fiscal and appropriations committee level, and then by the full Board itself. It is only at the conclusion of such a process that we arrive at our own conclusions and submit our annual budget request to Congress for its full consideration. Dan Bradley will more fully address our need for a 3-year congressional authorization for such sums as may be necessary. In support of his presentation, let me emphasize, however, that it is crucial that the Board have the tools necessary to carry out its responsibility to request and allocate funds in the best interests of the legal services community. We have much work to do and many important decisions to make as we move beyond our phenomenally successful minimum access plan. We hope this committee will continue to lend us its trusted and valuable assistance in support of our efforts to explore new and creative funding approaches designed to meet the needs of the 1980's. The certainty of a 3-year authorization is critical for efficient planning, and the flexibility of such sums as may be necessary is essential for effective adjustments for the many unknowns we all face. The Board of Directors is also most concerned with the actual delivery of high quality civil legal assistance. We recognize the many components of such service and the multiplicity of factors affecting its delivery. The Legal Services Corporation Act itself was carefully designed to insure that low-income individuals are provided the level and quality of legal assistance they so rightfully deserve if they are to participate in our system of justice. In consideration of the many positive, as well as a few unfortunately but distinctly negative provisions of the act, the Board of Directors recently adopted seven principles that we would strongly urge guide your reauthorization efforts. And I would ask that they be made a part of the record without my reading them to you. Mr. KASTENMEIER. Without objection, they would be included in the record. [The information follows:] |