A 3.6 percent funding cut approved by the U.S. Senate for the Legal Services Corporation — the federal nonprofit that funds legal aid organizations nationwide — will result in an estimated $1.9 million loss for Texas, marking yet another setback for legal aid providers after a year of repeated funding reductions, advocates said.
“If it had been the only loss over the last year, it would bite but it wouldn’t kill us,” said Betty Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which also supports the state’s three major organizations: Lone Star Legal Aid, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. “The problem is 2025 has been a year of loss after loss after loss.”
“It’s been death by a thousand cuts,” Torres said, while noting that advocates remain grateful that LSC funding continues.
The loss to the programs is about 3.8 percent. For Lone Star Legal Aid, which services 72 counties in the Houston and east Texas area, that’s about $800,000, CEO Paul E. Furrh, Jr. said. For Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, which services 114 counties, the figure is about half a million, CEO Maria Thomas-Jones said.
“We’re thankful the cut wasn’t more,” Furrh said. “Legal aid programs generally have a long history of doing more with less, and that’s what we will try to do.”
But the funding withdrawal comes after a particularly challenging time. Last year, Lone Star Legal Aid lost about $4 million from the reduction and elimination of federal grants, including from the Department of Justice and Housing and Urban Development as well as Covid-related funding, which resulted in staff reductions and office closures, particularly in rural areas, Furrh said.
Three offices — Conroe, Richmond and Galveston — were closed and about 50 staff positions were eliminated in the second half of 2025, Furrh said.
Furrh said he doesn’t anticipate more office closures with this year’s LSC funding cut. The organization is looking at ways to “get real aggressive about getting additional funding” in hopes of reopening the Conroe office, he said.
“The really major and bad impact hit us in 2025 … which is a reason for us saying we’re thankful that [the LSC funding cut] wasn’t worse,” Furrh said.
Last year, President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget called for eliminating LSC entirely — a move that would have cost Texas roughly $45 million in annual grants. In September, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 46 percent reduction. The Senate’s funding legislation ultimately allocates $540 million to LSC. It is part of a bipartisan minibus that includes Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriation.
“We appreciate the strong, bipartisan support for civil legal services in this appropriation,” said LSC President Ron Flagg. “While we’re grateful that proposals for more significant cuts have not prevailed, any cut threatens the stability and safety of American families, seniors and veterans who rely on already under-resourced legal services.”
LSC-funded organizations assist Texans with civil legal matters ranging from disaster recovery and veterans’ benefits to domestic violence protective orders and housing disputes. Federal law strictly limits how LSC funds may be used and restricts the types of cases grantees can handle to “really basic needs of people,” as Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby has said. Busby is part of a Texas delegation that travels to Washington, D.C., each April to advocate for continued LSC funding before members of Congress.
Research shows civil legal aid delivers a strong return on investment. In Texas, every $1 invested in civil legal aid returns $7.48 in other government funds the state does not have to spend, according to the most recent economic impact study. Comparable research in Louisiana found returns as high as $17.99 for every dollar invested.
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas was able to avoid office closures last year, but it eliminated 50 positions through layoffs and attrition, Thomas-Jones said, adding that even current funding levels have not kept pace with inflation and has increasingly strained the organization’s ability to meet increased demand. In the first three quarters of 2025, the organization saw a 3.5 percent increase in people seeking services over the year before.
“We have staff that are very efficient and very professional and very dedicated to the work that we do, and so that just means that they have to look across the table at an applicant that has a very good case and tell them, ‘I’m sorry, we don’t have the manpower to provide you services,’” Thomas-Jones said.
Thomas-Jones emphasized the importance of community partnerships and pro bono work in maintaining service.
“We’re going to survive,” she said. “We’re going to continue to do the work, and we’re going to try to think of creative ways to continue serving our community.”