NATIONAL NEWS REVIEW

$28 Million Increase for LSC Approved by House Appropriations Committee
The United States House of Representatives has voted to increase funding for LSC by $28 million, bringing the proposed LSC appropriation to $377 million for FY 2008.  The funding level proposed by the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science is an even higher amount at $390 million.  Although the funding increase is welcomed, it is still shy of the peak funding level for LSC.  In 1981, LSC received an appropriation of $321.3 million, which is over $700 million in 2007 dollars. [VIEW THE LSC PRESS RELEASE]

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Improved Access to Legal Services for Marshall Islanders in Arkansas
6,000 to 10,000 Marshall Islanders live in Northwest Arkansas.  They live and work in the U.S. indefinitely and without need of visas.  The 1986 Compact of Free Association prevented LSC grantees, such as Legal Aid of Arkansas (LAA), from providing services to this community.  At the LSC Board of Directors meeting held in Little Rock in April 2007, LAA Executive Director Lee Richardson emphasized this critical gap in legal services delivery in Arkansas. 
At the July 28, 2007, LSC Board of Directors meeting in Nashville, the Board unanimously voted to change the federal rule barring Marshall Islanders, Micronesians, and Palauans living in the United States from receiving assistance from LSC-funded organizations.  The rule change will go into effect in the fall of 2007 and will allow Legal Aid of Arkansas to serve the Marshall Islanders living in their coverage area. 

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Loan Repayment Amendment for Civil Legal Aid Attorneys Passes Senate  
The Higher Education Amendments of 2007 legislation (S. 1642), approved by the United States Senate on July 24, 2007, includes an amendment offered by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) to provide civil legal aid attorneys with loan repayment assistance.  Senator Harkin’s amendment authorizes $10 million for the loan repayment assistance program, which will provide up to $6,000 per year to individual civil legal aid attorneys.  The bill awaits action by the United States House of Representatives. 

The provision creates a loan repayment assistance program to be administered by the Department of Education, which would provide up to $6,000 a year--up to $40,000 for a lifetime--in educational debt relief for civil legal aid attorneys. Recipients would commit to a minimum of three additional years of service, or be required to repay the benefits they received. Priority would be given to legal aid lawyers with five years of experience or less. The provision authorizes $10 million in appropriations for FY 2008.  The bill is awaiting action in the House, where it will have to pass before being sent to the President for final approval.

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