April 25, 2002

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Chosen as 2002 Wayne Morse Integrity in Government Award Recipient

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) was today named as the recipient of the Wayne Morse Integrity in Government Award for 2002. Congresswoman Lee, Senator Russell Feingold, (D-WI), and Senator James Jeffords, (I-VT) were the three finalists chosen from an original list of seven nominees. Final selection was made by a blue ribbon national committee of former holders of the Morse Chair in Law and Politics at the University of Oregon.

"I am very honored to receive this award. I want to congratulate all of the nominees for their outstanding public service. They exemplify Senator Wayne Morse's standard of integrity and principle," said Lee. "Senator Morse was a true inspiration. This is indeed a humbling and remarkable moment. The constituents of the Ninth Congressional District are the ones who deserve this award for continuing to be passionate and engaged on issues that affect the future of this nation and the world."

The Wayne Morse Integrity in Government Award was created in 1987. Congresswoman Lee is the eighth recipient of the award and only the second woman. The first was the initial winner, Justice Rose Bird of California. Other recipients include Senator Lowell Weicker, 1988; President Jimmy Carter, 1989; Senator Paul Simon, 1991; Representative Henry Gonzalez, 1993; Senator William Proxmire, 1995; and Representative Jim Leach, 1997.

Since its inception in 1981, the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics has invited distinguished scholars and advocates to the University of Oregon to carry on the tradition of Wayne Morse. Housed at the University of Oregon School of Law, it is an independent center dedicated to interdisciplinary research, discussion, publication and teaching on critical topics in the fields of law and politics.



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