Under a FY 2012 budget deal reached between Democrats and Republicans, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) will receive $348 million to support all 136 federally-funded civil legal services programs for poor people around the nation. Among many other things, these legal services programs help poor people with consumer law issues, such as foreclosure, bankruptcy, and debt collection abuse.
This budget deal is around $50 million less than the LSC budget approved by the Senate a couple weeks ago, $22 million less than LSC's FY 2010 budget, and far less than the $517 million that LSC had requested. LSC funded programs have been cutting staff because of decreasing budgets, and John Levi, chair of LSC's Board, says that the FY 2012 budget deal will result in further staff cuts.
LSC budget cuts are nothing new: The FY 1981 LSC budget, in actual 1981 dollars, was $321 million. Since 1981, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of living has increased 249%. To stay even in real terms with the FY 1981 budget of $321 million, today's LSC budget would have to be $799 million.
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