Six Members of Congress Win Democracy Awards for Extraordinary Public Service

on May 29, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2019
Contact: Rachael Shackelford | 202-464-6959

Six Members of Congress Win Democracy Awards for Extraordinary Public Service

The Congressional Management Foundation
Recognizes Outstanding Achievement, Best Practices in House and Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) today announced the winners for the Democracy Awards, CMF's annual honors program recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices and by Members of Congress.

"Americans usually only hear about Congress when something goes wrong. The Democracy Awards shines a light on Congress when it does something right," said Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. "These Members of Congress and their staff members deserve recognition for their work to improve transparency in government, foster innovation in operations, and serve their constituents."

The 2019 Democracy Awards winners are:

Constituent Service
  • Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
  • Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)
"Life in Congress" Workplace Environment
  • Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
  • Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA)
Transparency, Accountability, and Innovation
  • Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
  • Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)

CMF has created a detailed process to identify and recognize the best congressional offices in three categories: 1) Constituent Service; 2) Transparency, Accountability, and Innovation; and 3) "Life in Congress" Workplace Environment. House and Senate personal offices self-nominated in late 2018 using an online questionnaire. In early 2019, CMF followed up with offices to gather documentation and assess the office's adherence to the established criteria to determine a list of finalists, which was announced on March 19, 2019.

Next, Selection Committees comprised primarily of former Members of Congress and former congressional staffers selected two winners (one Democrat and one Republican) for each category. To create even greater objectivity in selecting winners, all identifying information regarding the Member office was redacted, so the Selection Committee reviewed only the accomplishments of each finalist.

The Congressional Management Foundation will also recognize posthumously two Members of Congress, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), as the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Democracy Awards honorees.

Finally, CMF today also announced the following finalists for the 2019 Staff Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award:

  • Rena Diamond, Constituent Service Representative, Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
  • Jim Grant, Mail Manager, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)
  • The Honorable Karen Haas, Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Susan Olson, Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator John Boozman (R-AR)
  • Reynold Schweikhardt, Director of Technology Policy, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Franz Wuerfmannsdobler, Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)

The finalists and winners of the Democracy Awards will be honored at a ceremony at 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM, June 20, 2019 at the Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Ave. NE, Washington, DC. The winner of the Staff Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award will be announced at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Details on all winners' and finalists' accomplishments can be found here.

The Founding Partner for the Democracy Awards is the Bridge Alliance, which provided a generous grant to launch the program. Bridge Alliance is a diverse coalition of more than 80 organizations committed to revitalizing democratic practice in America.
CMF is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit whose mission is to build trust and effectiveness in Congress. Since 1977, CMF has worked internally with Member, committee, leadership, and institutional offices in the House and Senate to identify and disseminate best practices for management, workplace environment, communications, and constituent services. CMF also is the leading researcher and trainer on citizen engagement, educating thousands of individuals and facilitating better relationships with Congress.
 
Past Winners (DA)