Will discuss positive impact of HELP Legal Aid Center in Davenport
DES MOINES - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today that his aide, Alison Hart, will visit Scott County on Tuesday, June 17, as part of a summer tour highlighting Harkin's partnership with Iowa communities through the years. The "In the Footsteps of History" tour will include all Iowa counties and feature local projects aimed at keeping Iowa communities healthy and safe, keeping communities thriving through targeted education, research, and economic development projects and promoting local agriculture and conservation, while mitigating disasters. The media is invited to attend.
Hart will meet with administrators at the HELP Legal Aid center to discuss the impact of the center on the community. Legal Aid lawyers provide counsel for under-served and at-risk populations, including victims of crime, the elderly, veterans and low-income people in the Davenport community. Harkin was a Legal Aid attorney in Iowa early on in his career and went on to fight in Congress to ensure that low-income Americans have access to the legal services they need. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Harkin has offered numerous amendments to save and increase funding for the Legal Services Corporation, which funds Legal Aid. In addition, he has worked to secure more than $2.7 million above their base funding for Legal Aid services in Iowa since 2006. In 2009, he introduced the Civil Access to Justice Act, a bill to reauthorize the Legal Services Corporation and increase its annual authorized funding level. In 2007, he co-sponsored the Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Loan Repayment Act, a bill to forgive a portion of federal student loan debt for civil legal-aid attorneys who vow to stay in the practice for at least three years following degree completion.
"Every American deserves equal access to our justice system," said Harkin. "Having been a Legal Aid attorney early on in my career, I know firsthand how crucial legal assistance is to protecting the safety, security, and health of struggling families who have no place else to turn. I look forward to learning about how this center in Davenport is assisting those in need."
Details of the event are as follows:
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
12:00 PM HELP Legal Aid
736 Federal Street
Davenport, IA 52803
###
