Special Democracy Award (2021) – The Congressional Management Foundation has chosen an unusual tribute this year: bestowing a Special Democracy Award to the nonpartisan floor staff of the US House and Senate for the crucial role they played and the personal risks they took on January 6, 2021 to protect others and our democratic tradition of peacefully transitioning power.

The attack on the Capitol on January 6 has left a scar on the congressional community which will last forever. Many Members of Congress, law enforcement officers and congressional staff have talked openly about the impact the attacks had on their mental well-being. Yet there is one group rarely heard from who played a crucial role on that fateful day: the nonpartisan floor staff of the US House and Senate. This is a group of public servants who are rarely recognized for their contributions, and yet without whom the engine of democracy would fail to function. On January 6 they were put in harm's way, asked to go above and beyond expectations, and worked with others to protect the peaceful transition of power which is the hallmark of our democracy. These public servants were the stewards of democracy when we needed them most and continue to perform admirably as silent patriots serving under the dome. We owe them our gratitude for their outstanding work before, during, and after January 6, 2021.

It is for these reasons that the Congressional Management Foundation has chosen an unusual tribute this year: bestowing a Special Democracy Award to the nonpartisan floor staff of the US House and Senate. We hope this recognition will for a brief moment shine a light on the work of these silent patriots, and demonstrate to the broader congressional community - and indeed all Americans - that democracy doesn't simply function by itself. Democracy needs dedicated public servants, willing to make sacrifices, to perform their jobs irrespective of ideology and political party. We congratulate these staffers for their continued service to the Congress and the American people.