ATG NEWS RELEASE: Attorney General Doug Chin joins 32 Attorneys General urging Congress to oppose elimination of funding for legal services
Posted on May 22, 2017 in Latest Department News
HONOLULU – Highlighting the need for legal services in rural and low-income communities across the country, Attorney General Doug Chin today joined a bipartisan group of 32 attorneys general in urging Congress to oppose the Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
Attorney General Chin said, “A great number of Hawaii residents live in the type of rural and low-income communities that the Legal Services Corporation serves. Eliminating federal funding for this program hurts the exact same people we should be helping. That is why I joined my colleagues in asking the Trump Administration not to do this.”
The letter, sent today to the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committees, notes that for more than 40 years, under Republican and Democratic administrations, the LSC has helped residents across the nation to access justice.
LSC funding helps veterans and military families secure important benefits, it supports survivors of domestic violence seeking safety, and it assists families facing foreclosure and victims of natural disasters.
LSC funding also fosters longstanding public-private partnerships between legal aid organizations and private firms and attorneys nationwide who donate their time and skills to assist low-income residents in our states.
The letter was signed by the Attorneys General of Alaska, American Samoa, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Copies of both letters are attached.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Joshua A. Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
Phone: (808) 586-1284
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ATGHIgov