President Johnson signing the Poverty Bill (Economic Opportunity Act).

In his January 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced a “War on Poverty” and pledged to correct the problem. His first
anti-poverty bill, passed through Congress as part of president Kennedy’s
legacy, and was signed into law on this day in 1964. The nearly $1 billion bill
provided money for job training centers, loans for students and farmers,
as well as other anti-poverty programs.