The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a federally-funded program that provides legal assistance to abused women and children, the elderly, the homeless and poor Americans. This important program, founded under the Nixon Administration, has enjoyed bipartisan support for over two decades. It has played an important role in helping disenfranchised segments of our society receive the legal assistance that they need in order to help themselves.

Unfortunately, over the past several years, religious political extremists have attacked the Legal Services Corporation as a threat to "family values." The fact of the matter, however, is that LSC is a program dedicated to PROTECTING many of the shared values that families and people of faith in this country share. Over the past twenty years, LSC has:

• helped families off welfare and into productive jobs,
• helped poor clients obtain safe and affordable housing,
• saved family farms,
• fought consumer fraud,
• helped underprivileged children obtain and improve their educational opportunities,
• helped stop the cycle of domestic violence by providing legal assistance to abused women and children,
• facilitated safe working conditions,
• helped people obtain health care and disability.

But last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over LSC voted to cut the program's funds by more than 50%. The Full Appropriations Committee will vote on this program within the next two weeks. We expect that they will support the Subcommittee's recommendation.

This is another attempt by the Christian Coalition and its allies to eliminate an important program for the poor in order to pay for a tax break for the rich. Join us in our efforts to save the Legal Services Corporation from those who would deny legal protection to our country's poor.

Write a letter to your Member of Congress asking him/her to stop attempts to dismantle the Legal Services Corporation.

The Honorable ________________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515