[1] Javits led the efforts to expand the older law, which was called the Wagner–O'Day Act, and which mandated that federal agencies purchase products from workshops for the blind meeting specific qualifications.

The core criteria for NPA eligibility is that 75% of total direct labor hours must be performed by people who are blind or have other significant disabilities.

A similar law, the Randolph–Sheppard Act of 1936, mandates that blind people be given precedence over other entities for the operation of vending facilities on Federal property, and is not covered by JWOD or AbilityOne.

The Wagner O’Day act was signed into law on June 25, 1938, and required that all government agencies prioritize the purchasing of products to suppliers that employ individuals who are blind.

The Javits–Wagner–O'Day Act expanded the law, requiring specified supplies and services come from nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.

[8] Federal investigations surrounding the AbilityOne program, and its central non-profit agency SourceAmerica,[9] mirror the problems highlighted by Roosevelt’s failed National Industrial Recovery Act.