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Marquette to Honor U.S. Rep. Obey with Democracy Award

U.S. Rep. David Obey, the longest-serving member of either chamber of Congress in Wisconsin’s history, will be honored with the Les Aspin Democracy Award by the Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government at a dinner in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.  

“Congressman David Obey has been a tireless advocate for the rights and freedoms of all Americans, particularly those in rural America, throughout his nearly 40-year Congressional career.  The support he has provided to our students at the Aspin Center has inspired a new generation to careers in public service,” said Rev. Tim O’Brien, director of the Les Aspin Center for Government.

Now in his 19th term, Obey began his historic tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1969 after serving three terms in the Wisconsin State Legislature. He chaired the commission which wrote a new Code of Ethics for the House, including disclosure of representatives’ financial affairs. As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, he also has a strong commitment to the environment, to education and to access to health care.

As a representative of the 7th district of Wisconsin, Obey played an important role in the founding of the Les Aspin Center in Washington, D.C. He has also been a strong advocate of student financial aid programs, such as the federally-funded Pell Grants.

The Aspin Democracy award is bestowed upon individuals who, in the opinion of the National Board of Visitors of the Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government and Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., president of the university, have made life-time contributions of outstanding merit to the promotion of democracy and its values.  Past Aspin Center honorees have included U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye and Gen. Brent Scowcroft.

About the Les Aspin Center for Government
The Les Aspin Center for Government offers educational internships and training at the federal, local and international levels of government. At the D.C. program, students live in an academic community just blocks from the Capitol. They serve as interns in congressional offices, the White House, and a variety of other governmental agencies and departments. In addition to attending classes at the center, students visit government agencies to gain key insiders' perspectives on American democracy. The center is named in honor of the late Les Aspin, a former faculty member of Marquette, member of Congress and secretary of defense from 1993-94.

The Kleczka Internship Program is the Les Aspin Center for Government’s local initiative. The program provides internships for academically talented students, particularly those with financial need, who wish to work in public service at the state and local levels.

The Africa Program brings government leaders from Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania to the Les Aspin Center for Government to learn the principles of democracy and how to put them into action in their respective countries. Participants are immersed in a six-week learning experience at the Aspin Center in Washington, D.C., and on the Marquette campus in Milwaukee.

For more information, please visit the Aspin Center Web site.

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