Washington Lawyer - July/August 2021 - 20

FEATURE
Some of that congressional funding would enable the LSC's grantees to
improve their technology so they could work more efficiently remotely
and provide technical assistance to their clients. In late March 2020,
the LSC received $50 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act. " We then spent much of the rest of 2020 trying
to get additional COVID-19 funding, which, to date, we have not been
successful in getting, " says Flagg.
" Most people are not aware that
if you lose your home, you can lose
your child in a custody case. "
Through legislative advocacy, the LSC did, however, succeed in lobbying
for a $25 million increase in its fiscal year 2021 budget, from $440 million
to $465 million. It is the largest appropriation in the LSC's 47-year history,
which is all the more noteworthy considering that the organization
was constantly under threat of being defunded during the previous
administration.
Although the LSC received a greater budget increase on a percentage
basis than many other agencies, Flagg says civil legal aid in America
remains dramatically underfunded. Last year the LSC put forth a funding
request of more than $1 billion for fiscal year 2022 - the highest appropriation
request it has ever made.
" Our justice gap report in 2017 showed that only 14 percent of civil legal
problems faced by low-income Americans were addressed adequately, "
Flagg says. " So, 86 percent received no assistance or inadequate
assistance. "
CIVIL JUSTICE CRISIS
In August 2020, the LSC reported that more than 5.13 million households
were at risk of eviction as a result of the pandemic. Moody's Analytics
found in January 2021 that more than 10 million Americans were behind
on their rent. And while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
national moratorium on evictions was extended to June 30, 2021, that
alone does not automatically prevent people from being evicted. In fact,
federal judges in Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee have struck down the moratorium
following suits by landlords across the country.
" The moratorium varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, " Flagg says. " In
many jurisdictions, [eviction] cases can still be filed. And you have to -
as a defending tenant - recognize that in order to raise your defense
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Washington Lawyer - July/August 2021

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