FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 1995 (202) 616-2777 TDD (202) 514-1888 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO WARNS AGAINST CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE LEGAL SERVICES FOR POOR AMERICANS Congress Considers Defunding LSC After Decades of Success WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee met today to debate the future of the federal Legal Services Corporation, Attorney General Janet Reno released the following statement: "For more than 20 years, the Legal Services Corporation and legal services attorneys have filled a huge void in our legal system -- by providing legal advice and representation to those who urgently need it and cannot afford it. "There is no getting around the fact that functioning in our society today means coping with the intricacies of our legal system. "Simple decency demands that we have an equal chance to seek the protection of our laws. Without basic legal services, the poor are denied the promise of 'Equal Justice Under the Law.' "When it comes to keeping that promise, there is simply no alternative and no acceptable substitute to the representation that the LSC provides in every county of every state. I urge the Congress to keep this in mind as it takes up this critical issue." House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich has proposed eliminating the Legal Services Corporation. ### 95-357