HR 9735: CLINIC Assistance Act

HR 9735 in plain English: The CLINIC Assistance Act would create a federal grant program to help eligible institutions with employee benefits-related support. It authorizes $5,000,000 per year from 2026 through 2030, with individual grants capped at $500,000 per institution per fiscal year.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to create a federal grant program that funds law school clinics and pro bono programs where law students, supervised by attorneys, help workers and their families navigate and fight denied claims under their employee benefit plans.

Key points

• Authorizes $5,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to fund the grant program
• Caps individual grants at $500,000 per eligible institution per fiscal year
• Requires coordination with EBSA (Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Arguments supporters make

• Many workers who are wrongly denied benefits cannot afford a lawyer, so free legal clinics would level the playing field against large insurers and employers.
• Law school clinics give students real-world training while providing a public service, making this a two-for-one investment in legal education and consumer protection.
• The grant program is modest and time-limited, authorizing $5 million per year through 2030, making it a low-cost way to test whether this model improves access to benefits.

Arguments opponents make

• Federal dollars going to law schools could subsidize institutions that already have substantial resources, and the same money might help more people if spent on direct legal aid organizations.
• Creating a new bureaucratic grant program within ERISA adds complexity and may produce more paperwork and overhead than actual help for claimants.
• Law student representation, even when supervised, may be less effective than experienced attorneys in complex benefits disputes, potentially giving vulnerable claimants a false sense of security.

Tradeoffs

The program uses limited federal funds to expand legal access for benefit claimants, but channels that money through law schools rather than directly to workers or established legal aid groups, trading broader reach for the dual benefit of student training alongside client services.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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