In 1964, the poverty rate in the US was hovering around 19%. During President Lyndon B. Johnson's State of the Union Address in January of '65, he attacked the problem head on and officially declared "War on Poverty". Congress responded by passing the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 thereby creating the Office of Economic Opportunity to administer federal funds for use by states on anti-poverty fighting measures. The funds would be distributed to a network of Community Action Agencies (CAAs) - nonprofit private and public organizations established by the Economic Opportunity Act to fight America's War on Poverty.