The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) was an independent, non-profit organization founded in the U.S. in 1994 by the Software Publishers Association as well as six other industry leaders in response to video game controversy and threats of government regulation. At the time, the largest trade group, the SPA had few members in the gaming field, but the ASP had many, and the two organizations decided to work together. Lance Rose (a software attorney) and Rosemary West (ASP board member) appeared before Congress in the summer of 1994 in support of the SPA representation.