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Great Society Legislation
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Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)
is 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 tangibly to the War on Poverty. -
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)
is 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
is a United States federal statute enacted April 11, 1965. The Act is an extensive statute which funds primary and secondary education, while explicitly forbidding the establishment of a national curriculum. -
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
is 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. -
The National Foundation of the Arts and Humanity
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
The act abolished the National Origins Formula that had been in place in the United States since the Immigration Act of 1924. An annual limitation of 300,000 visas was established for immigrants, including 170,000 from Eastern Hemisphere countries, with no more than 20,000 per country. By 1968, the annual limitation from the Western Hemisphere was set at 120,000 immigrants, with visas available on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the number of family reunification visas was unlimited. -
Clean Water Restoration Act
The Water Quality Act of 1965 set water quality standards enforceable by state and federal governments. The act became the basis for interstate water quality standards. It also created the Water Pollution Control Administration within the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Next came the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966, which 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
was enacted in the United States in 1966 to empower 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.
