Though initially reluctant to pursue civil rights legislation, in 1963 Kennedy proposed a major civil rights bill that ultimately became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The economy experienced steady growth, low inflation and a drop in unemployment rates during Kennedy's tenure. In the aftermath, he took full responsibility for the failure, saying: 'We got a big kick in the leg and we deserved it. But maybe we'll learn something from it.' Kennedy's approval ratings climbed afterwards, helped in part by the vocal support given to him by Nixon and Eisenhower. Outside the United States, however, the operation undermined Kennedy's reputation as a world leader, and raised tensions with the Soviet Union. The Kennedy administration banned all Cuban imports, convinced the Organization of American States to expel Cuba, and turned to the CIA to plot the overthrow of Castro through its Cuban Project.