President honors elite federal executives

President Bush recognized 297 federal executives as the elite of the elite Wednesday when he conferred the Presidential Rank Award upon them.

The award fêtes the Senior Executive Service and Senior Level and Scientific and Professional executives in government each year with bonuses upward of $20,000. It is the highest honor in the civil service.

Sixty-three of the winners received the Distinguished Executive award for leadership and accomplishments over an extended time. The honor comes with a lump-sum award amounting to 35 percent of base pay.

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

Linda Springer, director of the Office of Personnel Management, released a statement announcing the winners.

"They have worked hard and have produced results for the American people," Springer said.

Up to 1 percent of the about 8,000 eligible employees can receive the Distinguished Executive award, and 5 percent can receive the Meritorious Executive honor. This year, the winners were employed by 33 agencies and departments.

They were 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 in most agencies is $109,808. That means Distinguished Executives brought home at least a $38,432 award and Meritorious Executives earned a minimum of $21,961.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense was one of the biggest agency winners, with nine Distinguished Executives and 22 Meritorious Executives. NASA had four Distinguished Executives and 24 Meritorious; the Treasury Department had three Distinguished and 22 Meritorious and the Veteran Affairs Administration had two Distinguished and 17 Meritorious.

In the spring, the Senior Executives Association honors Distinguished Executive winners with a swank reception, usually in the State Department's diplomatic reception rooms.