Within the next two weeks,
legislation for the renewal of the
Office of Economic Opportunity
will be before the House of
Representatives. As it left the
Senate, Senator George Murphy
added an amendment concerning
the Legal Services Program of the
OEO. The Murphy Amendment
provides that governors have the
power to veto specific legal assistance
programs within their states,
not subject to the power of the
Director of the OEO to override
that veto, as the law stands
presently.
The Murphy Amendment is
extremely dangerous; if passed by
the House, it would emasculate the
Legal Services Program. At present,
the governor of a state must either
veto the whole Program in his state,
which the OEO Director can
override, or else he must confer and
compromise with the OEO to
selectively limit certain programs.
As proposed, the governor would
be free to strike down any and all
legal assistance endeavors which
could possibly embarrass his administration,
or take it to court.
Senator Murphy wants "the
poor people" to have free lawyers,
but he doesn't want those same
lawyers seeking legal reforms in the
courts in an attempt to improve the
living conditions of their clients.
Senator Murphy's amendment will
forbid the lawyer to propose what
is best for his client, and will force
him to decide whether this action
will challenge or embarrass the
present state administration. No
wonder Senator Mondale of Minnesota
said that the Murphy Amendment
would "rob the [Legal
Services] Program of its promise."
It is vital that pressure be
brought on the House of Representatives
to strike down the Murphy
Amendment. If you've been waiting
around for the best time to let your
Congressman know you exist, write
him now. Tell him to vote down
the Murphy Amendment. His address
is: House Office Buildings,
Washington, D.C. 20003.
