In 1938, President Roosevelt signed the Wagner-O'Day Act which directed the government to purchase products manufactured by blind Americans. Robert Irwin, who was the executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind, and Peter Salmon who was the assistant director for the Industrial Home for the Blind promoted the bill in Washington, D.C. This act gave non-profit organizations for the blind the ability to sell to the federal government. It also provided the creation of a committee, known as the Committee on Purchases of Blind-Made Products, which had providentially appointed members representing various federal departments and private citizens.