LASP’s federal funding at risk: House Appropriations Commttee budget cuts LSC funding by 46%, including over $1 million for LASP; Senate Appropriations Committee incrases funding by LSC by $6 million

(Updated Aug. 6, 2025)

Media Contact:

Marion Fraley, Communications Director

mfraley@lasp.org | 484-210-5875

LASP's federal funding update: August 2025

  • U.S. House Appropriations Committee cuts LSC funding by 46%, including an over $1 million cut for LASP

  • U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee increases LSC funding by $6 million

Legal aid organizations serve all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. The 2020 PA IOLTA Board study looked at legal aid's economic impact across PA and found that $1 invested in civil legal aid returns an average of $12. bit.ly/IOLTA-report-2020

Similarly across U.S., legal aid organizations serve every county in the nation and deliver results for clients, along with economic impact. The Legal Services Corporation's new analysis of 20 years of studies (2003-2023) shows that for every $1 invested, civil legal aid returns an average of $7, nationally. lsc.gov/roi

The demonstrated benefits include cost savings—like reduced spending on shelters, emergency healthcare and law enforcement—as well as improved family stability and increased participation in local economies.

In state after state, investment in civil legal aid has paid for itself many times over.

By helping individuals resolve legal challenges, legal aid reduces the burden on government services and strengthens communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $566 million in funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) on July 17, 2025 when they approved the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) 2026 appropriations legislation. This would increase LSC funding by $6 million, or slightly over 1%, from its $560 million appropriation in 2025. 

On July 15, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee included $300 million in funding for LSC in their proposed CJS FY 2026 appropriations legislation. This represents a 46% cut from LSC’s FY 2025 funding level. The full committee markup of the House appropriations bill has been postponed and is not yet rescheduled.

Both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Subcommittee departed from the White House’s proposal to eliminate LSC in their FY 2026 budget proposal to Congress on May 30, which provided $21 million for LSC, to wind down operations.

How much funding does LASP currently receive from LSC?

In Fiscal Year 2025 (Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2025), LASP received $2,249,087 for the basic LSC field grant.

LASP also received additional funding from LSC for its Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) grant and disaster legal aid grant. Both grants ended during LASP's 2024-25 fiscal year (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025).

Note: LSC has a calendar year fiscal year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31).

LASP’s fiscal year is July 1-June 30.

Historical perspective: Closer look at LSC funding over time, + impact of 46% federal funding cut for Pennsylvanians

The 46% cut passed by the House Appropriations Committee would take LSC back to its 1999 funding level, despite increased need for legal help in the decades since.  

In 1999, 45.6 million American households' incomes were eligible for LSC-funded services. Currently, over 52.3 million Americans are eligible for LSC-funded legal assistance.

When adjusted for inflation, a $260 million dollar reduction would represent an over 60% cut to LSC’s funding.

In Pennsylvania, there are seven LSC-funded legal aid programs serving all 67 counties. A 46% funding cut would mean LSC grantees would be able to serve 78,599 fewer people, including 5,504 fewer older adults, 916 fewer veterans, and 5,974 fewer survivors of domestic violence.

LASP’s Federal funding update: June 2025

White House budget proposes eliminating LSC funding, including $2 million for LASP

(June 28, 2025)

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) ensuraes that hardworking Americans have the critical legal support to protect their rights and secure justice.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump’s budget, released May 30, proposes the elimination of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), putting at risk essential legal protections for veterans, seniors, adults and children in Pennsylvania and across the country.

If Congress approves this budget, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) would lose approximately $2 million of LSC funding that supports civil legal assistance for low-income people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

LASP has been providing vital legal services to southeastern Pennsylvania residents for more than 24 years, and currently about 23% of LASP’s funding comes from LSC. In 2023-24, LASP helped 10,272 households impacting 21,651 adults and children. LASP assists people who are facing urgent civil legal problems, including evictions, foreclosures, domestic violence, fraud, consumer scams, predatory lending and medical debt. Without LSC grant funding, LASP’s ability to serve clients would be significantly reduced.

From LASP's Executive Director

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP)’s mission is to provide quality legal representation to low-income and vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, to empower them to solve problems without legal representation through legal education and increased access to the courts, and to change community practices and systems that cause or aggravate poverty.

Shawn Boehringer, LASP Executive Director, stated, "LASP is a highly specialized law firm of last resort in the Philadelphia suburbs. No other law firm does what we do in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. 

"In Pennsylvania, there are close to 50,000 registered lawyers serving a population of 13 million Pennsylvanians. That's one lawyer for every 260 PA residents. 

"With a poverty rate in PA of 12%, well over 1 million Pennsylvanians live in poverty, and many more than that cannot afford a lawyer to help them with a civil legal problem—for an issue with their landlord or their mortgage lender, for a family law problem such as protection from domestic violence or child custody, or for a technical issue regarding their Social Security, veterans, or unemployment benefits. 

"In the four counties served by LASP, there are over 190,000 individuals living below the poverty level. LASP employs 46 lawyers to serve those four counties—the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh most populated counties in PA.* That's one legal aid attorney for every 4,130 individuals living in poverty in LASP's service area, compared to 1 for 260 for the entire state. 

"The math demonstrates how catastrophic a loss of 23% of our funding would be. The vast majority of LASP's funding pays the salaries of attorneys and staff—who work for below-market salaries because they believe in the mission of providing high quality, free legal services to individuals and families who otherwise would not be able to access representation. A drastic cut from LSC—which has had long-term bipartisan support in Congress—would be tragic."

About LSC: How LASP fits into the state & national civil legal aid picture

LSC’s mission: “To promote equal access to justice in our Nation and to provide high quality civil legal aid assistance to low-income persons.”

LSC is the nation’s single largest funder of civil legal aid. Each year, LSC funding supports legal services for more than five million low-income Americans nationwide. This includes more than a million children, over 200,000 survivors of domestic violence and nearly 45,000 veterans.   

LASP is one of 130 legal aid organizations nationwide, and is one of seven legal aid organizations in Pennsylvania, that receive LSC grants. LSC’s Pennsylvania grantees are Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, MidPenn Legal Services, Neighborhood Legal Services in Pittsburgh and surrounding counties, North Penn Legal Services, Northwestern Legal Services, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, and Summit Legal Aid in southwestern PA.

LSC-funded legal aid organizations, including LASP, do vital work assisting low-income people who are facing urgent civil legal problems that could cause them to lose their home, income, healthcare, custody of their children or an order of protection from an abuser. Legal aid organizations are a lifeline for working families, senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities and those recovering from natural disasters. 

“The breadth and depth of the damage that eliminating LSC will inflict on the 130 incredible legal aid organizations that LSC funds, and the repercussions for the low-income communities that those programs serve, is difficult to capture and horrific to imagine,” said LSC President Ron Flagg. “Because our justice system was built for lawyers, it is too often true that there is no hope of accessing justice when legal problems arise for the 52 million Americans who qualify for LSC-funded services and have no means to afford an attorney,” Flagg continued.  

Individuals who have a household income at or below 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible for LSC-funded legal assistance. Almost 10% of residents in LASP’s service area currently qualify.

The economic case for civil legal aid: For every $1 invested, civil legal aid returns an average of $7, nationally.

2020 PA IOLTA Board study found even greater impact across PA: $1 invested in civil legal aid returns an average of $12.

According to a recent LSC analysis, civil legal aid yields an average return of $7 for every $1 invested. The demonstrated benefits include cost savings—like reduced spending on shelters, emergency healthcare and law enforcement—as well as improved family stability and increased participation in local economies.

A January 2020 study by the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (PA IOLTA) Board found that civil legal aid returned $12 for every dollar invested.

In FY 2025, LSC received a Congressional appropriation of $560 million through a Continuing Resolution signed by President Trump. This was flat funding based on the FY 2024 appropriation for the federal government.

Bipartisan support from 40 attorneys general, 37 chief justices, 160 U.S. law firms, 104 corporations' general counsel/chief legal counsel, & 48 law school deans

“Everyone should have access to legal representation to maintain safe and stable housing, rightful benefits that keep them healthy, and protection against violence and scams.”

~ PA Attorney General Dave Sunday

Recent letters from external stakeholders have called for Congress to provide robust funding for LSC in fiscal year 2026. These include a letter signed by leaders of 160 U.S. law firms with offices across all 50 states, a letter from 40 bipartisan state attorneys general, a letter from 37 bipartisan chief justices of state supreme courts, a letter signed by 104 major American corporations' general counsel and chief legal officers; and a letter signed by 48 U.S. law school deans, including Villanova and Drexel.

Supporters from Pennsylvania who signed these letters include David Sunday, Pennsylvania Attorney General; Hon. Debra Todd, Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; and the following executives from Pennsylvania law firms: Peter V. Michaud, Chair, Ballard Spahr LLP (Philadelphia, PA); Eric L. Cramer, Chairman, Berger Montague PC (Philadelphia, PA); Grant S. Palmer, Chair and Managing Partner, Blank Rome LLP (Philadelphia, PA); Michael J. Heller, Executive Chairman & CEO, Cozen O’Connor (Philadelphia, PA); David W. Forti & Mark E. Thierfelder, Co-Chairs, Dechert LLP (Philadelphia, PA & New York, NY); Matthew A. Taylor, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Duane Morris LLP (Philadelphia, PA); James R. Segerdahl, Global Managing Partner, K&L Gates LLP (Pittsburgh, PA); Jami Wintz McKeon, Chair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (Philadelphia, PA); Jason M. St. John, Managing Partner, Saul Ewing LLP (Philadelphia, PA); Amie V. Colby, Managing Partner, and Thomas J. Cole, Jr., Chair, Troutman Pepper Locke (Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC). Among the 104 corporations, several have significant presence in Greater Philadelphia: Comcast Cable; Comcast Corporation; Merck & Co., Inc.; and GlaxoSmithKline. Many more have regional operations and local offices in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

Bipartisan letters of support for LSC from:

 * * * * *

*According to Pennsylvania Populations by County published Dec. 24, 2024 by Cubit, Montgomery County is the third most populous in the Commonwealth; Bucks County, fourth; Delaware County, fifth; and Chester County, seventh.

 * * * * *

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) was founded Jan. 1, 2001 when four long-standing county legal aid organizations joined forces. LASP’s mission is to provide quality legal representation to low-income and vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties Pennsylvania, to empower them to solve problems without legal representation through legal education and increased access to the courts, and to change community practices and systems that cause or aggravate poverty.

Based in eight local offices, LASP serves Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties with civil legal issues related to bankruptcy, consumer law and debt relief, child custody and dependency, domestic violence / Protection from Abuse orders (PFAs), elder law, expungement, record-sealing and pardons, family law, housing (landlord-tenant, eviction, habitability, public & subsidized housing, rent-to-own), and home ownership (mortgage foreclosure, property tax sales, reverse mortgages, tangled title), public benefits including unemployment Compensation, SSI, SSDI, TANF (cash assistance), SNAP (food stamps), Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and more; utility problems; Veterans benefits and discharge upgrades. LASP is completing a grant from LSC to assist survivors of Hurricane Ida with the long-term legal impacts  of the 2021 storm, which resulted in a federal disaster declaration for LASP’s entire service area plus four additional counties in Pennsylvania.

Further reading

Note:

A version of this article also appeared in LASP’s June e-news: https://conta.cc/3GpCE51.

Impact of LSC’s elimination on Pennsylvania | 1-page PDF

fundingMarion FraleyLegal Services Corporation, LSC, LSC funding, federal funding