Office of Economic Opportunity

Nixon transformed LBJ’s Office of Economic of Economic Opportunity from entitlements to defense contracting, giving birth to multi-billion dollar federal giveaways through Alaska Native Corporations. As Stone has pointed out, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a hawkish neocon, formerly ran Nixon’s OEO.

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The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Poverty" title="War on Poverty">War on Poverty</a> programs created as part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson" title="Lyndon B. Johnson">Lyndon B. Johnson</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Society" title="Great Society">Great Society</a> legislative agenda.

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<h2>Contents</h2>

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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#History">1 History</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#The_Impact_of_OEO_on_Native_Americans">2 The Impact of OEO on Native Americans</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#Directors.2C_1965-1980">3 Directors, 1965-1980</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#References">4 References</a></li>

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<h2>History</h2>

The office was created by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargent_Shriver" title="Sargent Shriver">R. Sargent Shriver</a> (with the assistance of William B. Mullins<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-0">[1]</a>) who also served as its first director.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-1">[2]</a>

Programs such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteers_in_Service_to_America" title="Volunteers in Service to America" class="mw-redirect">VISTA</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_Corps" title="Job Corps">Job Corps</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Action_Program" title="Community Action Program" class="mw-redirect">Community Action Program</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_Start_Program" title="Head Start Program">Head Start</a> (though that program was later transferred to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Health,_Education_and_Welfare" title="Department of Health, Education and Welfare" class="mw-redirect">Department of Health, Education and Welfare</a>) were all administered by the OEO. It was established in 1964, but quickly became a target of both left-wing and right-wing critics of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Poverty" title="War on Poverty">War on Poverty</a>.

President Nixon's attempt to impound appropriated funds for OEO was ruled unconstitutional by Judge William B. Jones on April 11, 1973 in a case brought by Local 2677, AFGE; West Central Missouri Rural Dev. Corp and the National Council of OEO Locals.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-2">[3]</a> Reauthorization in 1975 changed the name to the Community Services Administration (CSA) but retained the agency's independent status. On Sept 30, 1981, the Ominibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 transferred functions via the Community Services Block Grant to the states and a small staff in the Office of Community Services in the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington and abolished the regional offices along with some 1000 jobs.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-3">[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-4">[5]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-5">[6]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-6">[7]</a>

President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a>'s appointment of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Phillips_%28politics%29" title="Howard Phillips (politics)" class="mw-redirect">Howard Phillips</a> as Director of OEO in January 1973 touched off a national controversy culminating in a court case in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Columbia" title="United States District Court for the District of Columbia">United States District Court for the District of Columbia</a> (Williams v. Phillips, 482 F.2d 669)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-7">[8]</a> challenging the legality of Phillips' appointment.

Although OEO/CSA was transferred to the Office of Community Services in HHS by President Reagan in 1981, most of the agency's programs continued to operate either by HHS or by other federal agencies.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-8">[9]</a>

<h2>The Impact of OEO on Native Americans</h2>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States" title="Native Americans in the United States">Native Americans in the United States</a> were two of the main beneficiaries of the Office of Economic Opportunity when it was first established. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Sargent_Shriver" title="R. Sargent Shriver" class="mw-redirect">R. Sargent Shriver</a>, then director of the OEO, contacted Dr. James Wilson in 1964 and asked if he would lead a department that solely concentrated on poverty within Indian Country. Dr. Wilson accepted, and after taking the position, began to act as "small 'a' activist and a "big 'M' Manipulator" to "manipulate the system" of federal government dealings with Native Americans so Indians would eventually gain more political power.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-9">[10]</a> The OEO prided itself on flexibility and creativity and allowed Indian tribes to receive direct funding. The key OEO institution was the community action program (CAP), bestowed with the unusually energetic congressional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning" title="Strategic planning">mission statement</a> of “a program which mobilizes and utilizes resources . . . in an attack on poverty.” An unofficial allegiance with the National Congress of American Indians gave the OEO political clout that helped pass the CAPs, despite their bitter relationship with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tribal CAPs dedicated the largest amount of funding to Head Start for preschoolers and home improvement. Other areas of emphasis included educational development, legal services, health centers, and economic development.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-10">[11]</a>

One of the greatest accomplishments of the OEO Indian effort took place in Navajo country. The Rough Rock Demonstration School rose from the community’s will to give its children education that both respected and integrated Navajo culture and prepared young people for dealings with the majority society. The school was run by Navajo and it became the first wholly Indian-controlled school since the federal government took over the schools of the Five <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Civilized_Tribes" title="Five Civilized Tribes">Civilized Tribes</a> of Oklahoma in the late 19th Century. Rough Rock’s success led directly to the creation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Din%C3%A9_College" title="Diné College">Navajo Community College</a> (now Diné College), the first modern tribal college, and a movement that in time expanded to more than thirty higher education institutions.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-11">[12]</a>

The OEO projects injected <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_reservation" title="Indian reservation">Indian country</a> with confidence and determination and brought many benefits, but the generalized gifts of leadership and tribal control proved equally enduring. Although many problems were encountered along the way, more than a thousand Indian people, never before given the chance to assume major responsibilities, took the reins of OEO projects and then moved into leadership positions in the tribal councils, national and regional Indian organizations, and federal and state offices. American Indians had finally been given the power to either succeed or fail.

Although the Office of Economic Opportunity was abolished in 1981, its effects are still being felt today. Its programs have been curtailed or scattered among other federal agencies, particularly the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services" title="United States Department of Health and Human Services">Department of Health and Human Services</a>. Many states have adopted an OEO that serves to increase the self-sufficiency of their citizens, strengthen their communities, and eliminate the causes and symptoms of poverty.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_note-12">[13]</a>

<h2>Directors, 1965-1980</h2>

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<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargent_Shriver" title="Sargent Shriver">R.Sargent Shriver</a> 1965-1968</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bertrand_Harding&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bertrand Harding (page does not exist)">Bertrand Harding</a> 1968-1969</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" title="Donald Rumsfeld">Donald Rumsfeld</a> 1969-1971</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Carlucci" title="Frank Carlucci">Frank C. Carlucci</a> 1971-1972</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_V._Sanchez&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Philip V. Sanchez (page does not exist)">Philip V. Sanchez</a> 1972-1973</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Phillips_%28politics%29" title="Howard Phillips (politics)" class="mw-redirect">Howard Phillips</a> (Acting) 1973-1973</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arvin_J._Arnett&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Arvin J. Arnett (page does not exist)">Arvin J. Arnett</a> 1973-1974</li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathan_E._Chambers&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nathan E. Chambers (page does not exist)">Nathan E. Chambers</a> 1975-1980</li>

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<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-0">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/16/obituaries/w-b-mullins-52-a-founding-official-of-the-peace-corps.html">"Obituary: W. B. Mullins, 52, A Founding Official Of the Peace Corps", The New York Times, May 16, 1990</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-1">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.harpers.org/archive/1965/12/0014983">http://www.harpers.org/archive/1965/12/0014983</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-7">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://openjurist.org/482/f2d/669/williams-v-j-phillips">http://openjurist.org/482/f2d/669/williams-v-j-phillips</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-9">^{</a></span}> Cobb, Daniel M. Native Activism in Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2008. 103.</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-10">^{</a></span}> Wilkinson, Charles. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. 191-94.</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-11">^{</a></span}> Wilkinson, Charles. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. 191-94.</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Economic_Opportunity#cite_ref-12">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_002550">http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_002550</a></li>

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<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>:

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<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Defunct_agencies_of_the_United_States_government" title="Category:Defunct agencies of the United States government">Defunct agencies of the United States government</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Great_Society_programs" title="Category:Great Society programs">Great Society programs</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Native_American_history" title="Category:Native American history">Native American history</a></li>

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