{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-introduces-bill-provide-funding-law-school-clinics-provide-pro-bono", "Norton Introduces Bill to Provide Funding to Law School Clinics that Provide Pro Bono Services to Veterans", "2024-06-21", "2024", "2024-06", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Holmes Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", "norton", "https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced the Veterans Legal Support Act, which would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide funding to law school clinical programs that provide pro bono legal services to veterans, including assistance with disability claims and foreclosures. There are at least 22 law schools that have clinics devoted to veterans\u2019 legal needs, including the William & Mary Law School Veterans Benefits Clinic, which was the first recipient of a \u201cbest practice\u201d certification from the VA. There are many other law schools, such as the University of the District of Columbia\u2019s David A. Clarke School of Law, that are interested in starting their own VA-certified clinics.\n\n\u201cThousands of veterans are waiting for their disability claims to be processed by the VA. Law school clinics clinical programs provide free legal resources to assist veterans in processing their claims,\u201d Norton said. \u201cMy bill would merely build on what some law schools have begun to do for the last several years. More needs to be done to sustain and increase these programs.\u201d\n\nNorton\u2019s full introductory statement follows.\n\nStatement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton\n\nOn the Introduction of the Veterans Legal Support Act of 2024\n\nJune 21, 2024\n\nToday, I introduce the Veterans Legal Support Act of 2024, which would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide support to law school clinical programs that provide pro bono legal and support services to veterans, including assistance with disability claims and foreclosures. There are at least 22 law schools that have clinics devoted to veterans\u2019 legal needs, including the William & Mary Law School Veterans Benefits Clinic, which was the first recipient of a \u201cbest practice\u201d certification from the VA. There are many other law schools, such as the University of the District of Columbia\u2019s David A. Clarke School of Law, that are interested in starting their own VA-certified clinics. More needs to be done to sustain and increase the number of these programs.\n\nI was a tenured professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and continued to teach a seminar there after being elected to Congress. I saw the expert assistance that clinical programs provide their clients.\n\nI urge my colleagues to support this bill, a concrete measure that would assist our veterans, who put their lives on the line for this country.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-introduces-bill-provide-funding-law-school-clinics-provide-pro-bono"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8122590370476246, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}