SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The subcommittee convened at 10 a. m., pursuant to call, in room 424, Senate Office Building, Senator J. Howard McGrath, chairman of Present: Senators McGrath (chairman of the subcommittee) and Also present: Robert B. Young, professional staff member. Senator MCGRATH. This hearing will come to order. This is a subcommittee hearing to consider two bills before the Senate Judiciary Committee, namely, S. 1725, introduced by Senator McGrath, and S. 1734, introduced by Senator Humphrey. The title of the McGrath bill is "To provide means of further secur- ing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction The title of the Humphrey bill, which is closely related, is "A bill to establish a Commission on Civil Rights and for other purposes." [S. 1725, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act, divided into titles and parts according to the following table of contents, may be cited as the “Civil Rights Act TITLE I-PROVISIONS TO STRENGTHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MACHINERY FOR THE Part 1-Establishment of a commission on civil rights in the Executive branch of the Part 2-Reorganization of civil-rights activities of the Department of Justice. Part 3-Creation of a joint congressional committee on civil rights. TITLE II-PROVISIONS TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHTS TO LIBERTY, SECURITY, CITIZENSHIP, AND ITS PRIVILEGES Part 1-Amendments and supplements to existing civil-rights statutes. Part 2-Protection of right to political participation. Part 3-Prohibition against discrimination or segregation in interstate transportation. SEC. 2. (a) The Congress hereby finds that, despite the continuing progress of our Nation with respect to protection of the rights of individuals, the civil rights of some persons within the jurisdiction of the United States are being denied, abridged, or threatened, and that such infringements upon the American principle of freedom and equality endanger our form of government and are destructive of the basic doctrine of the integrity and dignity of the individual upon which this Nation was founded and which distinguishes it from the totalitarian nations. The Congress recognizes that it is essential to the national security and the general welfare that this gap between principle and practice be closed; and that more adequate protection of the civil rights of individuals must be provided to preserve our American heritage, halt the undermining of our constitu tional guaranties, and prevent serious damage to our moral, social, economic and political life, and to our international relations. (b) The Congress therefore declares that it is its purpose to strengthen and secure the civil rights of the people of the United States under the Constitution and that it is the national policy to protect the right of the individual to be free from discrimination based upon race, color, religion, or national origin. (c) The Congress further declares that the succeeding provisions of this Act are necessary for the following purposes: (i) To insure the more complete and full enjoyment by all persons of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured and protected by the Constitution of the United States, and to enforce the provisions of the Constitution. (ii) To safeguard to the several States and Territories of the United States a republican form of government from the lawless conduct of per sons threatening to destroy the several systems of public criminal justice and frustrate the functioning thereof through duly constituted officials. (iii) To promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race or religion, in accordance with the undertaking of the United States under the United Nations Charter, and to further the national policy in that regard by secur ing to all persons under the jurisdiction of the United States effective recogni tion of certain of the rights and freedoms proclaimed by the General As sembly of the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (d) To the end that these policies may be effectively carried out by a positive program of Federal action the provisions of this Act are enacted. SEC. 3. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. SEC. 4. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. TITLE I-PROVISIONS TO STRENGTHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SEC. 101. There is created in the executive branch of the Government a Commission on Civil Rights (hereinafter called the "Commission"). The Commission shall be composed of five members who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall designate one of the members of the Commission as Chairman and one as Vice Chairman. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence or disability of the Chairman, or in the event of a vacancy in that office. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. Three members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Each member of the Commission shall receive the sum of $50 per day for each day spent in the work of the Commission, together with actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred while engaged in the work of the Commission (or, in lieu of subsistence, a per diem allowance at a rate not in excess of $10). SEC. 102. It shall be the duty and function of the Commission to gather timely and authoritative information concerning social and legal developments affecting the civil rights of individuals under the Constitution and laws of the United States; to appraise the policies, practices, and enforcement program of the Federal Government with respect to civil rights; and to appraise the activities of the Federal, State and local governments, and the activities of private individuals and groups, with a view to determining what activities adversely affect civil rights. The Commission shall make an annual report to the President on its findings and recommendations, and it may in addition from time to time, as it deems appropriate or at the request of the President, advise the President of its findings and recommendations with respect to any civil rights matter. SEC. 103. (a) The Commission may constitute such advisory committees and may consult with such representatives of State and local governments, and private organizations, as it deems advisable. The Commission shall, to the fullest extent possible, utilize the services, facilities, and information of other Government agencies, as well as private research agencies, in the performance of its functions. All Federal agencies are directed to cooperate fully with the Commission to the end that it may effectively carry out its functions and duties. (b) The Commission shall have authority to accept and utilize services of I voluntary and uncompensated personnel and to pay any such personnel actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred while engaged in the work of the Commission (or, in lieu of subsistence, a per diem allowance at a rate not in excess of $10). (c) Within the limitations of its appropriations, the Commission is authorized to appoint a full-time staff director and such other personnel, to secure such printing and binding, and to make such expenditures as, in its discretion, it deems necessary and advisable. PART 2-REORGANIZATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SEC. 111. There shall be in the Department of Justice an additional Assistant Attorney General, learned in the law, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall, under the direction of the Attorney General, be in charge of a Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice concerned with all matters pertaining to the preservation and enforcement of civil rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States. SEC. 112. The personnel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice shall be increased to the extent necessary to carry out effectively the duties of such Bureau with respect to the investigation of civil rights cases under applicable Federal law. Such Bureau shall include in the training of its agents appropriate training and instructions, to be approved by the Attorney General, in the investigation of civil rights cases. PART 3-CREATION OF A JOINT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS SEC. 121. There is established a Joint Committee on Civil Rights (hereinafter called the "joint committee"), to be composed of seven members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and seven members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The party representation on the joint committee shall as nearly as may be feasible reflect the relative membership of the majority and minority parties in the Senate and House of Representatives. SEC. 122. It shall be the function of the joint committee to make a continuing study of matters relating to civil rights, including the rights, privileges, and immunities secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States; to study means of improving respect for and enforcement of civil rights; and to advise with the several committees of the Congress dealing with legislation relating to civil rights. SEC. 123. Vacancies in the membership of the joint committee shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the functions of the joint committee and shall be filled in the same manner as in the case of the original selection. The joint committee shall select a chairman and a vice chairman from among its members. SEC. 124. The joint committee, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, is authorized to hold such hearings, to sit and act at such places and times, to require, by subpena, or otherwise, the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, to administer such oaths, and to take such testimony, as it deems advisable. The provisions of sections 102 to 104, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes, as amended (2 U. S. C. 192, 193, 194), shall apply in case of any failure of any witness to comply with a subpena or to testify when summoned under authority of this section. Within the limitations of its appropriations, the joint committee is empowered to appoint and fix the compensation of such experts, consultants, technicians, and clerical and stenographic assistance, to procure such printing and binding, and to make such expenditures as, in its discretion, it deems necessary and advisable. The cost of stenographic services to report hearings of the joint committee, or any subcommittee thereof, shall not exceed 25 cents per hundred words. SEC. 125. Funds appropriated to the joint committee shall be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate on vouchers signed by the chairman and vice chairman. SEC. 126. The joint committee may constitute such advisory committees and may consult with such representatives of State and local governments and private organizations as it deems advisable. TITLE II—-PROVISIONS TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHTS TO LIBERTY, SECURITY, CITIZENSHIP AND ITS PRIVILEGES PART 1-AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO EXISTING CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES SEC. 201. Title 18, United States Code, section 241, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 241. (a) If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any inhabitant of any State, Territory, or District in the free exercise of enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or if two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured they shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. "(b) If any person injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates any inhabitant of any State, Territory, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or if any person goes in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder ! his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured such person shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or | both; or shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, if the injury or other wrongful conduct herein shall cause the death or maiming of the person so injured or wronged. "(c) Any person or persons violating the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be subject to suit by the party injured, or by his estate, in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for damages or preventive or declaratory or other relief. The district courts, concurrently with State and territorial courts, shall have jurisdiction of all proceedings under this subsection without regard to the sum or value of the matter in controversy. The term 'district courts' includes any district court of the United States as constituted by chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code (28 U. S. C. 81 et seq.), and the United States court of any territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States." SEC. 202. Title 18, United States Code, section 242, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 242. Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects, or causes to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State, Territory, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties on account of such inhabitant being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; or shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, if the deprivation, different punishment or other wrongful conduct herein shall cause the death or maiming of the person so injured or wronged." SEC. 203. Title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 242 thereof the following new section: SEC. 242A. The rights, privileges, and immunities referred to in title 18, United States Code, section 242, shall be deemed to include, but shall not be limited to, the following: "(1) The right to be immune from exactions of fines, or deprivations of property, without due process of law. "(2) The right to be immune from punishment for crime or alleged criminal offenses except after a fair trial and upon conviction and sentence pursuant to due process of law. "(3) The right to be immune from physical violence applied to exact testimony or to compel confession of crime or alleged offenses. "(4) The right to be free of illegal restraint of the person. แ "(5) The right to protection of persons and property without discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin. "(6) The right to vote as protected by Federal law." SEC. 204. Title 18, United States Code, section 1583, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 1583. Whoever holds or kidnaps or carries away any other person, with the intent that such other person be held in or sold into involuntary servitude, or held as a slave; or whoever entices, persuades, or induces any other person to go on board any vessel or other means of transportation or to any other place within or beyond the United States with the intent that he may be made a slave or held in involuntary servitude shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both." PART 2-PROTECTION OF RIGHT TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION SEC. 211. Title 18, United States Code, section 594, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 594. Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, Delegates or Commissioners from the Territories and possessions, at any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing such candidate, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both." SEC. 212. Section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (8 U. S. C. 31) is amended to read as follows: "All citizens of the United States who are otherwise eligible by law shall be entitled to and allowed the same and equal opportunity to qualify to vote and to vote at any general, special, or primary election by the people conducted in or by any State, Territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision, without distinction, direct or indirect, based on race, color, religion, or national origin; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its authority, to the contrary notwithstanding. The right to qualify to vote and to vote, as set forth herein, shall be deemed a right within the meaning of, and protected by, the provisions of title 18, United States Code, section 242, as amended, section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (8 U. S. C. 43), and other applicable provisions of law." SEC. 213. In addition to the criminal penalties provided, any person or persons violating the provisions of section 211 of this part shall be subject to suit by the party injured, or by his estate, in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for damages or preventive or declaratory or other relief. The provisions of sections 211 and 212 of this part shall also be enforceable by the Attorney General in suits in the district courts for preventive or declaratory or other relief. The district courts, concurrently with State and Territorial courts, shall have jurisdiction of all other proceedings under this section without regard to the sum or value of the matter in controversy. The term "district courts" includes any district court of the United States as constituted by chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code (28 U. S. C. 81 et seq.), and the United States court of any Territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. PART 3-PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION OR SEGREGATION IN INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION SEC. 221. (a) All persons traveling within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, and privileges of any public conveyance operated by a common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and all the facilities furnished or connected therewith, subject only to conditions and limitations applicable alike to all persons, without discrimination or segregation based on race, color, religion, or national origin. |