Speaker. all questions and problems pertaining to civil rights are of great interest to the people I represent. who reside in the 23d District of New York. I am including in the the Committee on the Judiciary concerning two proposals now under consideration: Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee on the Judiciary. it is very gratifying to me that the Committee on the Judiciary. of which I am happy to be a member. has under consideration two proposals of vital interest and importanceto abolish the poll tax. and the elimination of unreasonable literacy tests for voters. These are the two civil rights proposals which President Kennedy included in his state of the Union message. I introduced bills providing for abolition of the poll tax and for the elimination of unreasonable literacy tests so that countless citizens of our country who are now prevented from participation in the essential democratic process of voting may enjoy the rights guaranteed them under our Constitution. There is overwhelming evidence to show that many thousands of qualified Americans are denied the right to vote solely because they are Puerto Ricans or members of the Negro race. Six grades of formal education is sufficient qualification for voting in all elections where any State now requires any form of literacy or educational test.
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literacy tests