This week, 31 leading faith-based groups voiced their strong objections to the LSC private money restriction in a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that is responsible for the provision. Signatories to the letter include the National Council of Churches, the National Baptist Convention, Dr. Ron Sider's Evangelicals for Social Action, Pax Christi USA, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and 26 other local, regional, and national groups of various denominations. In the letter to Representatives Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Alan Mollohan (D-WV), the groups wrote, "We are deeply concerned that this [provision] hurts the families we serve, imposes unnecessary costs, and sets a dangerous precedent for public-private partnerships. The law closes the doors of justice for many low-income individuals and families who simply cannot afford to hire a private lawyer to help them in civil matters." As applied by LSC, if an organization wishes to spend its private funds to finance any of the legal services that Congress has prohibited with federal dollars, it must first establish a physically separate office with entirely separate staff and equipment. The signatories wrote: "This compulsory physical separation imposes unnecessary costs on financially strapped legal aid programs and creates costly obstacles to private philanthropy." Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center, says, "This collaborative effort by faith-based groups bolsters the fight to protect the legal resources of those otherwise unable to afford counsel."

To view the letter and a full list of signatories, visit http://www.ncccusa.org/, http://www.paxchristiusa.org, or http://www.brennancenter.org/.