President honors outstanding senior executives

President Bush recognized 278 outstanding federal executives this week with the Presidential Rank Awards, the government's highest award for civil servants.

Fifty-five of the winners received the Distinguished Executive honor for major accomplishments in carrying out government goals and policies. Each receives a lump-sum cash award amounting to 35 percent of base pay.

The remaining honored leaders received the Meritorious Executive award, which comes with a cash bonus equal to 20 percent of base pay.

"These awards present a much-deserved opportunity to recognize those who have made significant progress in advancing the President's Management Agenda while producing results for the American people," Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer said in a statement. "Those selected should be proud of this recognition."

The awards are given annually to members of the Senior Executive Service or senior level scientific and professional employees not in the SES, who have served "over an extended period of time," according to OPM.

Up to 1 percent of the eligible 7,800 employees can receive the Distinguished Executive award, and 5 percent can receive the Meritorious Executive honor. This year, the winners were employed by 35 agencies.

Winners are nominated by their agency and then evaluated by a board of private citizens before being approved by the president.

The minimum rate of basic pay for a member of the SES is $104,927. That means Distinguished Executives brought home at least a $36,724 award and Meritorious Executives earned a minimum of $20,985.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense was the biggest agency winner, with seven Distinguished Executives and 20 Meritorious Executives.