CEF Awardees

Champions of education who have received awards from CEF since 1986

James G. O'Hara Education Leadership Award

1986: The Honorable Jim Wright, Representative from Texas
1987: The Honorable William D. Ford, Representative from Michigan
1988: The Honorable Thomas P. O’Neill Jr., Representative from Massachusetts
The Honorable Robert T. Stafford, Senator from Vermont
1989: The Honorable Augustus F. Hawkins, Representative from California
1990: The Honorable Claiborne Pell, Senator from Rhode Island
The Honorable William H. Natcher, Representative from Kentucky
1991: The Honorable John Brademas, Representative from Indiana
1992: The Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Senator from West Virginia
1993: The Honorable Robert V. Dellums, Representative from California
1994: The Honorable Major R. Owens, Representative from New York
1995: The Honorable James M. Jeffords, Senator from Vermont
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts
1997: The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd, Senator from Connecticut
The Honorable Arlen Specter, Senator from Pennsylvania
1998: The Honorable Louis Stokes, Representative from Ohio
2001: The Honorable Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa
2003: The Honorable David R. Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
2012: The Honorable Richard Durbin, Senator from Illinois
2016: The Honorable Rubén Hinojosa, Representative from Texas
2021: The Honorable Robert “Bobby” Scott, Representative from Virginia

Charles Wilson Lee Citizen Service Award

1988: Mr. Owen B. Butler, Former Chairman, Procter & Gamble, Incorporated
1989: Mr. Charles W. Lee, Former Executive Director, Committee for Education Funding
1992: Mr. Jonathan Kozol, Author of Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools
1993: Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Lady of the United States
2007: Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton, for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
2008: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation
2015: John Forkenbrock, Former Executive Director, National Association of Federally Impacted Schools
2016: Joel Packer, Former Executive Director, Committee for Education Funding

The William H. Natcher Distinguished Service Award

1986: The Honorable Mark Andrews, Senator from North Dakota
The Honorable Lowell P. Weicker Jr., Senator from Connecticut
The Honorable William H. Gray III, Representative from Pennsylvania
The Honorable Pat Williams, Representative from Montana
1987: The Honorable Ernest P. Hollings, Senator from South Carolina
The Honorable Silvio O. Conte, Representative from Massachusetts
1988: The Honorable William H. Natcher, Representative from Kentucky
The Honorable Augustus F. Hawkins, Representative from California
The Honorable Louis Stokes, Representative form Ohio
1989: The Honorable Dale E. Kildee, Representative from Michigan
1990: The Honorable Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa
The Honorable Dale E. Kildee, Representative from Michigan
The Honorable Silvio O. Conte, Representative from Massachusetts
The Honorable William F. Goodling, Representative from Pennsylvania
1991: The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth, Senator from Colorado
The Honorable William D. Ford, Representative from Michigan
1992: The Honorable Jim Sasser, Senator from Tennessee
The Honorable John Conyers Jr., Representative from Michigan
1993: The Honorable Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa
1994: The Honorable James M. Jeffords, Senator from Vermont
The Honorable Martin Olav Sabo, Representative from Minnesota
1995: The Honorable Mark O. Hatfield, Senator from Oregon
The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe, Senator from Maine
The Honorable David R. Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
1997: The Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Senator from New Mexico
The Honorable John M. Spratt Jr., Representative from South Carolina
The Honorable Nita M. Lowey, Representative from New York
The Honorable Michael N. Castle, Representative from Delaware
1998: The Honorable Patty Murray, Senator from Washington
The Honorable Jack Reed, Senator from Rhode Island
The Honorable Connie Morella, Representative from Maryland
1999: The Honorable John Edward Porter, Representative from Illinois
The Honorable David R. Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
2000: The Honorable Ted Stevens, Senator from Alaska
The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Representative from Maryland
2001: The Honorable George Miller, Representative from California
2002: The Honorable Edward Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts
The Honorable Kent Conrad, Senator from North Dakota
The Honorable Susan Collins, Senator from Maine
The Honorable Ralph Regula, Representative from Ohio
2003: The Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Senator from West Virginia
The Honorable Michael N. Castle, Representative from Delaware
2004: The Honorable Arlen Specter, Senator from Pennsylvania
The Honorable Jack Reed, Senator from Rhode Island
The Honorable David R. Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
2007: The Honorable Dave Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
The Honorable Jim Walsh, Representative from New York
2008: The Honorable Robert Scott, Representative from Virginia
2009: The Honorable Timothy Bishop, Representative from New York
2010: The Honorable Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa
2011: The Honorable Rosa L. DeLauro, Representative from Connecticut
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, Senator from Hawaii
2012: The Honorable Chris Van Hollen, Representative from Maryland
2014: The Honorable Barbara Mikulski, Senator from Maryland
2015: The Honorable Nita Lowey, Representative from New York
2017: The Honorable Roy Blunt, Senator from Missouri
The Honorable Suzanne Bonamici, Representative from Oregon
2021: The Honorable Edward Markey, Senator from Massachusetts
The Honorable Grace Meng, Representative from New York

Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Education Advocacy

1996: The Honorable Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education
1997: The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States
1999: The Honorable Edward Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts
2001: The Honorable James Jeffords, Senator from Vermont
2008: The Honorable Robert Byrd, Senator from West Virginia
2009: The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States
2014: The Honorable Patty Murray, Senator from Washington
2017: The Honorable Jack Reed, Senator from Rhode Island

The Richard W. Riley Career Service Award

1996: The Honorable Claiborne Pell, Senator from Rhode Island
The Honorable Mark O. Hatfield, Senator from Oregon
The Honorable Paul Simon, Senator from Illinois
The Honorable Nancy L. Kassebaum, Senator from Kansas
The Honorable Pat Williams, Representative from Montana
2000: The Honorable Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education
2006: The Honorable Jim Jeffords, Senator from Vermont
2009: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Representative from California
2011: The Honorable Dale E. Kildee, Representative from Michigan
2012: The Honorable Olympia Snowe, Senator from Maine
2014: The Honorable George Miller, Representative from California
2016: Thomas Skelly, Former Director of the Budget Service, US Department of Education

The Edward M. Kennedy Lifetime Advocacy Award

2009: In Memory of the Honorable Edward M. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts
2010: The Honorable David R. Obey, Representative from Wisconsin
2013: The Honorable Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa

Outstanding New Member Award

1993: The Honorable Patty Murray, Senator from Washington
The Honorable Xavier Becerra, Representative from California
The Honorable Lynn C. Woolsey, Representative from California
1995: The Honorable William H. Frist, Senator from Tennessee
The Honorable Lynn N. Rivers, Representative from Michigan
2002: The Honorable Michael M. Honda, Representative from California
2003: The Honorable Chris Van Hollen, Representative from Maryland
2004: The Honorable Timothy Bishop, Representative from New York
2007: The Honorable John Yarmuth, Representative from Kentucky
2009: The Honorable Glen Thompson, Representative from Pennsylvania

Special Recognition Award

1999: The Honorable David Todd Kearns, Founder of New American Schools
The Honorable William Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
2000: The Honorable William L. Clay, Representative from Missouri
The Honorable William F. Goodling, Representative from Pennsylvania
Susan Frost, Special Advisor to the Secretary of Education and Former Executive Director, Committee for Education Funding
2003: The Honorable Chuck Hagel, Senator from Nebraska
2009: The Honorable Jim Webb, Senator from Virginia
The Honorable Chuck Hagel, former Senator from Nebraska
Ellen Murray, Majority Clerk, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
2010: Cheryl L. Smith, Former Majority Clerk, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
2011: Bettilou Taylor, former Majority/Minority Clerk, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
2012: The Honorable Todd Russell Platts, Representative from Pennsylvania
2014: The Honorable Jay Rockefeller, Senator from West Virginia
The Honorable Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky
2015: Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
2016: The Honorable Tom Cole, Representative from Oklahoma

Staff Recognition Award

2012: Leticia Mederos, former Chief of Staff, Representative Rosa DeLauro
2014: Erik Fatemi, Former Majority Clerk, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies

#HearOurEdStories

Social Media Toolkit to let Congress know why education funding matters to you

CEF Events

CEF Gala – September 13, 2023
Reception and awards banquet at National Press Club Ballroom

Videos, presentations, and photos from past briefings and CEF Galas

Charts, Funding Tables, and Other Resources

Find an expert, view federal budget info, and browse charts and graphics.

CEF Budget Book

Access CEF’s analyses of the President’s budget request from 2011 to the present.