President George W. Bush signed the law amidst civil rights leaders, including Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the then-current president of the NAACP, in a well publicized ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House. The event celebrated the popularity of the law, as it had passed the Senate 98-0 and the House 390-33. The bill was signed on the same day as President Bush's historic visit to the NAACP convention, and public discourse cited the Republican party's attempt to garner minority support as one of the reasons the renewal enjoyed bipartisan backing.