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Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)
An anti-poverty program created by Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. Initially, the program increased employment opportunities for conscientious people who felt they could contribute to the War on Poverty. Volunteers served in communities throughout the U.S., focusing on enriching educational programs and vocational training for the nation's underprivileged classes. -
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The Kennedy and Johnson Years
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Economic Opportunity Act
The centerpiece of the "War on Poverty," which in turn was a major thrust of the "Great Society" legislative agenda of the Lyndon Johnson administration. The EOA provided for job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses to attack the roots of unemployment and poverty. -
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
A Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government. Although its beginnings were in the House and Home Financing Agency, it was founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of the "Great Society" program of President Lyndon Johnson, to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
The most expansive federal education bill ever passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." A former teacher who had witnessed poverty's impact on his students, Johnson believed that equal access to education was vital to a child's ability to lead a productive life. -
Medicare
President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Medicare, which provides low-cost hospitalization and medical insurance for the nation's elderly. The legislation remains an important legacy of LBJ’s “Great Society” society initiative. -
Medicaid
The United States health program for people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. Among the groups of people served by Medicaid are certain U.S. citizens and resident aliens, including low-income adults and their children, and people with certain disabilities. -
The National Foundations of the Arts and Humanities
This act promotes progress and scholarship in the humanities and the arts in the United States, -
Water Quality Act
Prevented water pollution by requiring states to establish and enforce water quality standards for interstate waterways. -
Immigration Act of 1965
Also known as the Hart-Cellar Act, which not only allows more individuals from third world countries to enter the US, but also entails a separate quota for refugees. Under the Act, 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere are granted residency, with no more than 20,000 per country. One hundred twenty thousand immigrants from the Western Hemisphere are also to be admitted. The significance of this bill was that future immigrants were to be welcomed because of their skills/professions. -
Clean Water Restoration Act
Imposed a fine of $100 per day on any polluter who failed to submit reports required by the law. -
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
It empowers the federal government to set and administer new safety standards for motor vehicles and road traffic safety. The Act created the National Highway Safety Bureau. The Act was one of a number of initiative by the government in response to increasing number of cars and associated fatalities and injuries.
