Whereas, 60 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an unconditional War on Poverty in his first State of the Union Address on January 8, 1964; Whereas the War on Poverty sought to address the high rate of poverty in the United States, including by implementing measures to prevent poverty; Whereas the War on Poverty was defined by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act which created the Office of Economic Opportunity to focus Federal attention and administration of antipoverty initiatives; Whereas the War on Poverty permanently codified the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 1964 and other critical food assistance programs; Whereas the War on Poverty implemented one of the biggest reformations in education policy through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; Whereas the War on Poverty created Medicare and Medicaid through the Social Security Amendments of 1965; Whereas the War on Poverty established the Department of Housing and Urban Development and what would become the Department of Health and Human Services; Whereas poverty declined by 30 percent within 5 years after the War on Poverty was declared and the country was on track to effectively end poverty within two decades; Whereas subsequent progress has been incomplete and sometimes temporary, in part due to the failure of economic growth to deliver widely shared prosperity; Whereas the Johnson administration rejected calls for a guaranteed income and former Presidents of both parties have acknowledged limited income security initiatives as a shortcoming of the War on Poverty; Whereas the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought nationwide attention to issues of poverty by fighting for economic justice through guaranteed employment, education, and guaranteed housing as means to ensure a minimum living standard for all; Whereas the War on Poverty failed to address ensuring fair and good jobs for all who can work and failed to adequately prepare people for the workforce