Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, I rise to support the Cohen amendment. Legal aid programs are Federal, State, and private partnerships.

In Oregon and around the country, legal aid offices work hard to diversify funding, but cuts from a number of sources, including Federal cuts in recent years, have severely impacted their ability to serve low-income families.

Legal Services Corporation funds legal aid around the country, and they make a real difference for low-income and elderly Oregonians and Americans. Legal aid serves people with the most critical legal needs: food, shelter, medical care, income maintenance, and physical safety.

In my State of Oregon, about 40 percent of the cases handled by legal aid attorneys involve helping victims of domestic violence and their families, protecting them from abuse. About 80 percent of legal aid's clients are women, most with children to support.

Under current levels, legal aid is able to assist only a fraction of the eligible population. In Oregon, legal aid serves only about 20 percent of the civil legal needs of eligible Oregonians.

I was proud to work at legal aid. Early in my career I spent many years there, and I will never forget the people we were able to help. They desperately need legal assistance at a time in their lives when they can least afford it.

Not low-income by choice--and that was the most poignant message about helping low-income people--most had unexpected medical bills, had lost a job, or lost a spouse. Legal aid helps real people.

Today, I am here for people like Beth, who thought she had escaped her son's abusive father, only to have him turn up, kick in the door, and threaten her, all while she was pregnant. Legal aid was able to help her get a restraining order and custody of her son, who has asthma and only one kidney. Now Beth and her son are building safe and stable lives free from abuse.

I am here for people like Jennifer, a stage IV cancer survivor and Oregon Health Plan member, who got a bill from a medical center for a procedure performed years earlier. They threatened to shut her off from seeing her doctor, and took actions clearly illegal under Oregon law. Legal aid stepped in, and she was able to continue her followup visits with her doctor without collection agency harassment.

I am here for people like Natalie and her son, Zach, who has severe gastrointestinal disorder. When he was 3 years old, he was finally able to take food orally, but then Social Security cut off his disability benefits. Natalie tried to hire a lawyer but she couldn't afford the fees. Legal aid stepped in and got those benefits restored, giving Zach a better chance at a normal, active life.

And today, I am here for people like Michael. He and his family lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and they came to Oregon to start over. Then the IRS penalized him for unpaid taxes. Legal aid helped him amend his tax return to fully account for his losses from Katrina, and instead of penalties, he was able to receive a refund.

These are the faces of legal aid. They are real people who have real needs who need real help. They need access to justice.

Low-income people can't just open up a phone book and pick out an attorney to take a case. These are not cases that lawyers take on a contingency fee basis. Lawyers don't help tenants who are wrongfully evicted on a contingency fee.

The President has asked for $80 million more than what this bill provides for. This amendment asks for just $15 million in addition. It is the least we can do.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Cohen amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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