Finalists for 2006 public service medals lauded

Thirty federal employees were recognized at a breakfast on Capitol Hill Tuesday as finalists for an annual public service award, for exceptional accomplishments in areas ranging from delivery of benefits to Hurricane Katrina victims to international humanitarian assistance.

The finalists stood out from among nearly 500 employees nominated for the 2006 Service to America Medals, which honor achievements in homeland security, international affairs, justice and law enforcement, science and environment, national security, service to citizens and several more general categories. The Partnership for Public Service, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, and the Atlantic Media Co., publisher of Government Executive, established the awards in 2002.

The 30 finalists help put a human face on the good work within the federal bureaucracy, which is often criticized but rarely noted for what is going right, said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., whose parents both worked for the State Department, his father as a Foreign Service officer.

"It's my view that in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we need to attract the best and the brightest to public service," Van Hollen said.

Reps. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., and Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., also attended the breakfast, held in a Hart Senate Office Building room with a view of the Capitol dome, to congratulate constituents among the finalists and thank all of those honored for, as Schwartz put it, their "willingness to kick it up a notch and make that extra difference."

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, ranking member of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee involved in oversight of the federal workforce, said the finalists should inspire a new generation of public servants.

Indeed, the awards are designed to reflect the contributions of younger employees, with a "call to service" category reserved for public servants 35 or younger. Finalists in that category this year helped secure a historic nuclear energy agreement between the United States and India, developed technology to treat contaminated wetlands, headed the U.S. Embassy in Iraq's legal office and assisted with the development and implementation of the president's AIDS relief plan.

Several of the other honorees were recognized for their roles in the government's response to Katrina. One led a Drug Enforcement Administration team that rescued 90 seniors from a flooded nursing home, while another used mapping techniques to locate and help rescue stranded residents in the New Orleans area. Others helped with delivery of mail and Social Security benefits, and with registration for federal disaster assistance.

Nine of the finalists will receive a medal accompanied by an award of $3,000 to $10,000, in a black-tie ceremony in Washington on Sept. 27. The 15-member selection committee includes Tommy Thompson, former secretary of Health and Human Services, and leaders of universities, private sector companies, a federal employee labor union and media organizations.

A complete list of finalists is available on the Service to America Medals Web site.