LSC is calling President Bush's proposed cuts in his FY 2006 budget proposal for LSC "calamitous" and is requesting a total of $363.8 million in the FY 2006 budget. This amount represents an increase from both its FY 2005 request of $352.4 million and the actual FY 2005 appropriated amount of $330.8 million. Eric Kleiman, LSC communications director, says the cuts in LSC funding proposed by the White House would result in "the closure of dozens of offices and hundreds of staff people. All too often, when there are federal cuts, there is simply no one to pick up the slack - given the overwhelming need." However, Kleiman adds that LSC is appreciative of President Bush's continued support for funding civil legal services since "Ronald Reagan tried to zero us out. . . . That's certainly not the case with this president."

T.R. Goldman, Legal Aid, Courts Looking to Dodge the Budget Ax, The Legal Intelligencer, Feb. 15, 2005, at 4.