LBJ Signs Economic Opportunity Act Creating Job Corps and Office of Economic Opportunity

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 on August 20, 1964, launching the cornerstone of the War on Poverty. The Act created the Office of Economic Opportunity inside the Executive Office of the President, with Sargent Shriver as its first director, and authorized the Job Corps, VISTA, Community Action Programs, and Head Start. Initial authorization was about $947.5 million in fiscal year 1965 for anti-poverty programs.