IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1390 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2024 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Legal Services 
Corporation. 
Whereas, on July 25, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon 
signed the Legal Services Corporation Act, which created 
the Legal Services Corporation; 
Whereas as stated in the declaration of purpose of the Legal 
Services Corporation Act, ‘‘there is a need to provide 
equal access to the system of justice in our Nation for 
individuals who seek redress of grievances’’ and ‘‘a need 
to provide high quality legal assistance to those who 
would be otherwise unable to afford adequate legal coun-
sel’’ and that ‘‘providing legal assistance to those who 
face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel will 
serve best the ends of justice and assist in improving op-
portunities for low-income persons’’; 
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•HRES 1390 IH 
Whereas the Legal Services Corporation awards grants 
through a competitive process and currently funds 130 
independent legal aid organizations with more than 900 
offices serving every county in every State, the District 
of Columbia, and the territories; 
Whereas the Legal Services Corporation is the country’s larg-
est single funder of civil legal aid; 
Whereas the Legal Services Corporation grantees provide free 
civil legal aid to individuals who live in households with 
annual incomes at or below 125 percent of the Federal 
poverty guidelines; 
Whereas, over its 50 years of existence, the Legal Services 
Corporation’s grantees have assisted an estimated 
76,000,000 low-income Americans with free civil legal as-
sistance, including 1,900,000 people in 2023; 
Whereas the justice gap, defined as the difference between 
the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the re-
sources available to meet those needs, has only widened 
since the Legal Services Corporation’s creation; 
Whereas nearly 50,000,000 Americans are eligible for the 
Legal Services Corporation-funded services, including 
more than 15,000,000 children and 7,600,000 seniors; 
Whereas eligible constituents span every demographic and 
live in rural, suburban, and urban areas, including vet-
erans, those affected by opioids and other substance use 
disorders, survivors of natural disasters, domestic vio-
lence survivors, families with children, homeowners and 
renters, people with disabilities, and the elderly; 
Whereas 74 percent of low-income households have experi-
enced at least one civil legal problem that has substan-
tially impacted their lives in the past year; 
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•HRES 1390 IH 
Whereas low-income Americans receive no or inadequate as-
sistance for 92 percent of their significant civil legal 
needs; and 
Whereas, due to limited resources, the Legal Services Cor-
poration grantees turn away roughly half of the eligible 
individuals who seek assistance: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms that— 
(A) access to justice is a fundamental 
American value; 
(B) the United States must continue to 
strive to ensure that all Americans have equal 
access to the judicial system; and 
(C) the mission of the Legal Services Cor-
poration remains vital to ensuring equal access 
to justice; 
(2) commends the Legal Services Corporation 
and its grantees for assisting an estimated 
76,000,000 Americans over its 50 years, including 
1,900,000 low-income people in 2023; and 
(3) calls for continued prioritization of funding 
for the Legal Services Corporation— 
(A) to continue the mission of the Legal 
Services Corporation Act; 
(B) to close the justice gap; and 
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•HRES 1390 IH 
(C) to help protect equal access to justice 
for all Americans, regardless of personal means. 
Æ 
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