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GREAT SOCIETY LEGISLATION, 1964-1966
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Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), 1964
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. Volunteers served in communities throughout the U.S., focusing on enriching educational programs and vocational training for the nation's underprivileged classes. -
Economic Opportunity Act, 1964
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (EOA) was 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. Originally coordinated by the Office of Economic Opportunity, many sections of the EOA have been rescinded. other important segments have simply been transferred. -
Water Quality Act, 1965
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983. -
Medicaid, 1965
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria. Medicare operates similar to a single-payer health care system. The program also funds residency training programs for the vast majority of physicians in the United States. -
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 1965
The United States Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the legislation on August 10, 1965.President Johnson called it "the single most important breakthrough" in federal housing policy since the 1920s.The legislation greatly expanded funding for existing federal housing programs, and added new programs to provide rent subsidies for the elderly and disabled; housing rehabilitation grants to poor homeowners. -
The National Foundations of the Arts and Humanities, 1965
an independent agency of the U.S. government that supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. It was created by the U.S. Congress in the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965. The legislation defined “humanities” broadly to include the study of archaeology, language, linguistics, history, philosophy, ethics, comparative. -
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 1966
An Act to provide for a coordinated national safety program and establishment of safety standards for motor vehicles in interstate commerce to reduce accidents involving motor vehicles and to reduce the deaths and injuries occurring in such accidents. -
Clean Water Restoration Act, 1966
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. government passed a series of pollution control acts designed to clean up and protect the nation's environment. The lawmakers' intent was to reduce the impact of conventional pollutants in the air and on surface waters. Later, lawmakers recognized that toxic pollutants discharged into the water were also dangerous. They took steps to control these, too. One of the results of their efforts was the Clean Water Act. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (P.L. 89-10), the most expansive federal education bill ever passed to date, on April 9, 1965, 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.
