Legal Aid Group Targeted by Trump Eyes Funding as Evictions Loom

The Legal Services Corporation, the national legal aid organization that the Trump administration wants to defund, is looking for more money from Congress to prepare for a wave of demand sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

The LSC has asked Congress for more than $652 million for Fiscal Year 2021, a nearly 25% increase from its current allotment. The organization is the largest of its kind and supports 132 legal aid groups across the country.

The LSC rarely gets the full funding it requests. Proponents say the money is particularly crucial this year, as the pandemic-driven economic crisis has increased demand for legal aid to address issues like housing, domestic violence, and child welfare.

“Just one example—the eviction moratoria around the country will be lifted and people will need representation, and LSC is on the front lines in housing cases,” Steven Schulman, a pro bono partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, told Bloomberg Law. “So there’s going to be an increased need in the coming year,” Schulman said.

Congress is expected to pass a stopgap funding measure this week while lawmakers continue to negotiate legislation to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year. The package would also set funding for the LSC.

Even if lawmakers do not fully approve the LSC’s request, they are once again likely to reject President Donald Trump’s efforts to completely stop the flow of federal funds to the organization. The administration has cited allegations of waste and argued that state and local governments should take the lead on legal aid in their communities.

Exacerbated Evictions

Last year, Congress approved $440 million for the LSC, about 81% of what the organization requested. The LSC received an additional $50 million through the first pandemic stimulus bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, in March. Until the new budget is passed, the LSC will continue to be funded at 2020 levels.

The LSC’s 132 grantees reported just over $1.1 billion in total funding in 2019, and 37% of that came from the LSC. Other sources of cash for pro bono organizations include state and local governments and private donors.

The LSC’s primary source of funding remains the federal government, but it does receive some money in the form of private donations. The organization has received around $10 million total in donations from law firms and other sources, according to LSC president and general counsel Ron Flagg.

“We’ve been able to do some terrific things with that money, but it is nothing remotely approaching the federal appropriations,” Flagg said.

The pandemic has led to record levels of unemployment and evictions this year. Despite a Centers for Disease Control eviction moratorium, millions of people have already lost their homes since the pandemic began due to inconsistent adoption of the policy and poor adherence and enforcement. The moratorium expires Dec. 31.

In 2019, housing issues including evictions made up 29.3% of the cases that the LSC funded. This year, it could be as high as 36%, according to early estimates based on the LSC’s distribution of its CARES Act funding.

“Evictions are currently increasing the spread of Covid-19 and the death rates caused by Covid-19,” Flagg said. He added that evicted families often have to move in with relatives or squeeze into homeless shelters.

Flagg cited a November study by researchers from five universities around the country that found that between mid-March and early September, evictions led to roughly 433,700 excess cases of Covid-19.

“That means legal aid in eviction cases can literally save lives,” he said.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), a former Ballard Spahr pro bono counsel, expects a “tsunami” of evictions once the moratorium expires.

Scanlon said that people often have defenses against eviction, including an executive order President Trump signed in August that provided eviction safeguards during the pandemic. The problem is raising those defenses in court.

“If someone doesn’t have a lawyer, they don’t know how to do that,” Scanlon said.

The services that the LSC funds can help people delay or prevent evictions. But even if Congress approves the LSC’s requested $652 million, there’s still not enough funding to help every person in need of housing legal aid.

Flagg said he’s seen estimates that 30 to 40 million people face eviction.

“If even just 5 million of those households were eligible for LSC funded services, it would cost roughly $2.5 billion to provide legal assistance to those 5 million households. This is just a very grave crisis that the country faces,” he said.

Targeted by Trump

The Trump administration has attempted to defund the LSC every year since 2016.

Thee administration cited multiple reasons to defund the LSC in a Office of Management and Budget report outlining the White House’s proposed FY2021 budget. It pointed to allegations of waste and fraud by LSC’s grantees involving some $17,000. The LSC’s inspector general has also alleged that some grantees have illegally acted as lobbyists.

The administration also said eliminating the LSC would give state and local governments more control over legal aid in their communities.

But bipartisan support for legal aid has helped protect the LSC and its grantees. Annual letters of support signed by legal leaders from over 400 organizations, like Kirkland & Ellis and Amazon.com Inc., have also helped LSC make its case.

The LSC’s funding has steadily increased since 2016, though the allotment never reached the amount requested by the organization.

LSC funding was up and down during the Obama and George W. Bush administrations. From 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2013, the LSC saw budget cuts ranging from 0.4% to 14.1%, according to the organization.

Still, several pro bono advocates said they expect the incoming Biden administration to be more supportive of legal services.

“I’m hopeful that the Biden administration will recognize the critical role legal aid lawyers can play as first responders and take the lead in proposing additional resources for civil legal aid,” Flagg said.

Schulman said pro bono providers can’t afford to become complacent no matter who is in the White House.

“Even under a Biden administration, we need to keep our eye on the ball and make sure that legal aid is given the kind of funding that it needs,” he said. “It’s much easier to rally people when an administration says, ‘We are going to defund an organization.’ It’s a little bit harder when you’re trying to get people to ask for an increase in funding.”