Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, was one of the programs that resulted from the U.S. Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. President Kennedy had previously proposed that Congress create a national service program, similar to the popular Peace Corps program for foreign countries, but no such legislation was adopted by Congress before his death. Subsequently, in August 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law by President Johnson as part of what was commonly referred to as the War on Poverty.