Inside the
Bar
Congressman Obey honored: Long-time friend of civil legal
services for the poor
Wisconsin Rep. David R. Obey, Wausau, was recognized in August by the
State Bar and the Marathon County Bar Association for his long-time
support for funding for civil legal services.
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| State Bar President D. Michael Guerin (right) presents Rep. David
Obey with a resolution recognizing his long-time support for funding for
civil legal services |
"We recognized Congressman Obey's efforts to stabilize federal
funding for programs that meet the legal needs of disadvantaged
Wisconsin citizens at a time when those programs were facing potentially
severe funding cuts tied to changes in the 2000 federal census," notes
State Bar President D. Michael Guerin, who presented a resolution
adopted by the State Bar's Board of Governors to recognize Obey's
efforts.
In part, the resolution read, "Congressman Obey's impassioned,
bipartisan advocacy on this issue resulted in a critical increase in
funding for the federal Legal Services Corporation that prevented
drastic funding cuts in Wisconsin and 25 other states. Without
Congressman Obey's efforts, Wisconsin programs that provide legal
services to the poor would have faced sudden, drastic cuts in 2003,
topping $700,000, or nearly 15 percent of their total funding. This
would have been a devastating loss for Wisconsin's low-income
citizens."
Obey advocated Congress on behalf of Wisconsin's most needy, fighting
in the U.S. House of Representatives to increase federal funding by $19
million. Obey and others continued to fight to ensure that half of that
amount, $9.5 million, was included in the final version of the FY 2003
appropriations bill approved by both houses of Congress.
Inside the
Bar
