ustxtxb_obs_1980_08_22_50_00015-00000_000.pdf

15. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 410 texas 504 west 472-9459 24th austin, Austin’s only open-air dance floor is now open every day and night for live music and homestyle meals. Come enjoy our laid-back tropical garden atmosphere. Fine wines & beers 405 West Second Street 477-0461 .1 Simply the best record shop in the state of Texastry us first for hard-to-find, local and regional records, i rer lowest prices NTENTS 12 FL Legal Aid Teeters on the Hill This summer Congress has been waffling over funding and extension of the Legal Services Corporation, a kind of public law firm for the poor set up by the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1965 and made into an independent agency in 1974. Active litigation by some LSC regional offices, often directed against governmental agencies, has inspired antagonism from conservative quarters, and that ill will is now directed at abolishing or curtailing LSC operations. In a narrow July vote, the House granted the LSC a 7 percent budget increase for 1981, a $21 million rise over the current $300 million appropriation. But a more critical vote is yet to come on a reauthorization bill extending the LSC through 1983, and allocating a maximum of $321 million for 1981 operations. Amendments to that bill severely curtailing LSC activities already are being proposed by foes of the LSC, among whom the Texas delegation figures prominently. An amendment to reduce the LSC appropriations was offered when the bill reached the full House, but it was defeated. The attempted reduction was supported by 18 of Texas’ 24 congressmen. In an earlier vote in the House appropriations committee, Rep. Charles Wilson of Lufkin offered an amendment to reduce the LSC’s budget, but it was rejected by a voice vote. Both the reauthorization and appropriation bills passed the Senate in June. Wilson’s objection to the LSC is not so adamant as that of Rep. Sam Hall of Marshall, who said, “I think the best move in the world would be if we abolish the agency,” but it is firm. In essence, Wilson doesn’t think the LSC should be allowed to do what it does quite often sue other governmental agencies on behalf of its clients. Prompting Wilson’s ire is an incident that began last November, when the Immigration and Naturalization Service, responding to complaints about illegal aliens from Wilson’s office, conducted a massive raid on Hispanics in Angelina County. A total of 376 persons in Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Diboll, Corrigan and Camden were arrested and asked to prove U.S. citizenship. At least eight of those arrested turned