Statement by the President Following Action on the Civil Rights Bill by the House Committee on the Judiciary.

THE House Committee on the Judiciary, in approving a bipartisan civil rights bill today, has significantly improved the prospects for enactment of effective civil rights legislation in Congress this year. The bill is a comprehensive and fair bill.

It will provide effective legal remedies for racial discrimination in voting, education, public accommodations, employment, and Federal programs. It will provide the basis for men of good will in every city in our land to work together to resolve their racial problems within a framework of law and justice.

The bill must now pass through the House Rules Committee, be approved by the House, then by the Senate. I am hopeful this can be done as rapidly as possible.

From the very beginning, enactment of an effective civil rights bill has required that sectional and political differences be set aside in the interest of meeting an urgent national crisis. The action by the Committee today reflects this kind of leadership by the Speaker of the House, John McCormack, House Minority leader, Charles Halleck, the Committee Chairman, Emanuel Celler, and the ranking Minority Member, William McCulloch.