Alabama lawyers are raising the alarm about a provision in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget that would make it harder for low-income families, veterans and senior citizens to receive legal aid in court cases.

The Legal Services of Alabama, a nonprofit that helps low-income people manage legal issues related to domestic violence, evictions, health care and more, receives almost all of its funding from the federal government. Trump’s budget would zero out that funding.

“(We’re) giving voice to those who have no voice,” said Guy Lescault, who runs Legal Services of Alabama. “The senior who is not getting other Social Security or the veteran who isn’t getting their benefits.”

The Trump administration has proposed cutting almost all funding for the Legal Services Corporation, a national organization founded in 1974. It supports legal aid to 5 million Americans each year, according to the group.

Legal Services Alabama gets $8.9 million from the national organization each year, and would lose 73% of its funds if Trump’s budget is approved.

The rest of its funding also comes from other federal sources that also are in jeopardy. Alabama does not send any state funding to the organization, unlike other states.

Lescault said if his group disappears, the court system will become clogged with people who can’t afford attorneys trying to represent themselves.

“I call it a war on poverty,” he said, “Not the war, it’s a war on the poor because they are the ones that are going to be most impacted by it.”

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ aims to drastically reduce government spending. Critics say cuts to SNAP, research funding, education and other programs would hurt people in Alabama and across the country.

Legal Services Alabama has also advocated against cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, saying a reduction in benefits would increase the number of people facing evictions, bankruptcy and other legal issues.

Last year in Alabama, the group helped 14,944 Alabamians who reached out through its call line.

Legal Services Alabama represented Alabamians in a lawsuit about delays in unemployment payments during COVID-19 that went up to the U.S. Supreme court last year. The court ruled in the group’s favor.

Already this year, the group lost a quarter of a million dollars of federal funds from a grant focused on helping people who do not have titles to their land, called heir’s property.

“The reason for the notification, which we received on April 15, was that it had the word ‘climate’ in it,” Lescault said.

Lescault said Rep. Terri Sewell is advocating for legal aid funding to be restored to the federal budget.