In 1964 Lyndon Baines Johnson persuaded Congress to pass the Anti-Poverty Act. Johnson stated that it was the first step in his war on poverty. The overall strategy was to help people to "climb out of poverty and stay out". The act provided $947.5 million dollars for job training centres, loans to poor students and low-income farmers, and basic education programs. Opponents of the legislation included Barry Goldwater, the Republican Party candidate for the presidency, who claimed it was an "election-year bid for votes".