I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4508
To authorize appropriations for the Legal Services Corporation and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 26, 1994
Mr. BRYANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for the Legal Services
Corporation and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, REFERENCE, AND TABLE OF
CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Legal Services Reauthorization Act of 1994’’.
(b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro-
vided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is
expressed in terms of an amendment or repeal of a section
or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be
made to a section or other provision of the Legal Services
Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 2996 and following).
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title, reference, and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 4. Protection against theft and fraud.
Sec. 5. Prohibitions on lobbying.
Sec. 6. Enforcement.
Sec. 7. Monitoring and independent evaluation.
Sec. 8. Class actions.
Sec. 9. Negotiation requirement.
Sec. 10. Restrictions on use of funds for legal assistance to aliens.
Sec. 11. Governing bodies of recipients.
Sec. 12. Professional responsibilities.
Sec. 13. Solicitation.
Sec. 14. Certain eviction proceedings.
Sec. 15. Procedural safeguards for litigation.
Sec. 16. Competition study.
Sec. 17. Fee-generating case provisions.
Sec. 18. Miscellaneous restrictions.
Sec. 19. Recordkeeping and noncorporation funds.
Sec. 20. Evasion.
Sec. 21. Attorneys’ fees provisions.
Sec. 22. Corporation Board composition and control over policy.
Sec. 23. Reprogramming provisions.
Sec. 24. Grants.
Sec. 25. Establishment of local priorities.
Sec. 26. Staff attorneys.
Sec. 27. Studies.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Section 1001 (42 U.S.C. 2996) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 1001. The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) there is a need to provide equal access to
the system of justice in our Nation for those who are
unable to afford adequate legal counsel to pursue
and resolve their grievances and protect their legal
rights and interests;
‘‘(2) funds made available pursuant to this title
have made it possible for millions of individuals, who
would otherwise be unable to afford legal counsel, to
receive high quality, efficient, and effective legal rep-
resentation;
‘‘(3) the present legal services program should
be maintained and its resources expanded to serve
the unmet legal needs of indigent clients;
‘‘(4) local control by recipients of assistance
under this title over policy, resource allocation, and
case selection has enabled the legal services program
to meet the priority needs of clients in the commu-
nities served;
‘‘(5) providing legal assistance to those who
face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel
will serve best the ends of justice and assist in im-
proving opportunities for low-income persons consist-
ent with the purposes of this title;
‘‘(6) for many of our citizens, the availability of
legal services has reaffirmed faith in our government
of laws;
‘‘(7) to preserve its strength, the legal services
program must be kept free from the influence of or
use by it of political pressures; and
‘‘(8) attorneys providing legal assistance must
have full freedom to protect the best interests of
their clients in keeping with the rule of ethics and
professional responsibility that apply in the jurisdic-
tion where the legal assistance is provided and the
highest standards of the legal profession.’’.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 1010(a) (42 U.S.C. 2996i(a)) is amended by
striking the first three sentences and inserting the follow-
ing: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur-
pose of carrying out the activities of the Corporation such
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1995,
1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’.
SEC. 4. PROTECTION AGAINST THEFT AND FRAUD.
Section 1005 (42 U.S.C. 2996d) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(h) For purposes of sections 286, 287, 641, 1001,
and 1002 of title 18, United States Code, the Corporation
shall be considered to be a department or agency of the
United States Government.
‘‘(i) For purposes of sections 3729 through 3733 of
title 31, United States Code, the term ‘United States Gov-
ernment’ shall include the Corporation, except that actions
that are authorized by section 3730(b) of such title to be
brought by persons may not be brought against the Cor-
poration or any recipient or employee thereof.
‘‘(j) For purposes of section 1516 of title 18, United
States Code—
‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal auditor’ shall include
any auditor employed or retained on a contractual
basis by the Corporation,
‘‘(2) the term ‘contract’ shall include any grant
or contract made by the Corporation, and
‘‘(3) the term ‘person’, as used in subsection
(a) of such section, shall include any recipient receiv-
ing financial assistance under section 1006(a)(1) or
1006(a)(3).
‘‘(k) Funds provided by the Corporation under sec-
tion 1006 shall be deemed to be Federal appropriations
for the purpose of all Federal criminal laws when used
by a recipient.
‘‘(l) For purposes of section 666 of title 18, United
States Code, funds provided by the Corporation shall be
deemed to be benefits under a Federal program involving
a grant or contract.
‘‘(m) The Corporation shall make available to the ap-
propriate legal authority any evidence of criminal conduct
by a recipient or an employee of a recipient.’’.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITIONS ON LOBBYING.
Section 1007(a) (42 U.S.C. 2996f(a)) is amended by
amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
‘‘(5) ensure that no funds made available by the
Corporation to any recipient are used to pay for any
personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone
communication, letter, printed or written matter, or
other device, or to pay for any publicity or propa-
ganda, intended or designed—
‘‘(A) to influence any decision by a Fed-
eral, State, or local agency, except when legal
assistance is provided by an employee of a re-
cipient of the Corporation to an eligible client
on a particular application, claim, case, or other
matter, which directly involves the client’s legal
rights or responsibilities, or
‘‘(B) to influence any Member of Congress
or any other Federal, State, or local elected of-
ficial to favor or oppose any Act, bill, resolu-
tion, or similar legislation, or any referendum,
initiative, constitutional amendment, or any
similar procedure of the Congress, any State