News and Events

2010 Best of Congress Awards Breakfast

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
8 am-10 am ET

On September 22, 2010 Corporate Voices and Working Mother Media recognized the 2010 Best of Congress Award winners at a breakfast at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C. 14 of the 30 Congressional winners attended the ceremony to receive their awards and to give brief remarks. Each had powerful stories of how they, their families, and those close to them have struggled to meet work/life challenges, which have formed a clear driver behind their strong commitment to advance the work/life agenda in Congress.

The Best of Congress Award spotlights Congressional excellence in improving the lives of working families through legislation and advocacy. Equally important, it also recognizes those members of Congress who practice what they preach – employing family-friendly policies in their own offices. Recipients of the Best of Congress Award are featured in the August/September 2010 issue of Working Mother magazine and at www.workingmother.com.

“The recipients of the Best of Congress Award serve as models for what can be accomplished through legislation and a personal commitment to policies that benefit working families,” Donna Klein, CEO and Executive Chair of Corporate Voices, said. “As our nation continues to face a number of economic and other issues involving working families, these members of Congress deserve to be congratulated and recognized nationally for their leadership, advocacy and support of best-practice family-friendly workforce policies.”

“Not only did we judge the esteemed members on their voting records for supporting working families, we also examined the benefits that their own employees receive like paid leave and flextime,” Carol Evans, CEO, Working Mother Media, said. “There are no rules about flextime or paid leave for Congressional staff. They are stepping up voluntarily because they believe in progressive policies and act on their beliefs in the real world managing their staff.”

In the coming months, Corporate Voices will distribute the 2010 Best of Congress Best Practices Guide, highlighting the winners and their office policies. This guide will serve as a useful resource for current and new Members of Congress as they consider ways to establish office policies that help their employees meet the dual demands of work and family, in a way that enhances service to constituents.

Recipients of the 2010 Best of Congress Award are:

U.S. Senate

  • Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
  • Robert Casey (D-Pennsylvania)
  • Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
  • Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut)
  • Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York)
  • Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
  • Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia)
  • Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin)
  • Patty Murray (D-Washington)
  • Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania)

U.S. House of Representatives

  • Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)
  • Russ Carnahan (D-Missouri)
  • Susan Davis (D-California)
  • Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut)
  • Mary Fallin (R-Oklahoma)
  • Chaka Fattah (D-Pennsylvania)
  • Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona)
  • John Lewis (D-Georgia)
  • Carolyn Maloney (D-New York)
  • Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York)
  • Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington)
  • Erik Paulsen (R-Minnesota)
  • Dave Reichert (R-Washington)
  • Peter Roskam (R-Illinois)
  • C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-Maryland)
  • Linda Sanchez (D-California)
  • Allyson Schwartz (D-Pennsylvania)
  • Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida)
  • Lynn Woolsey (D-California)
  • John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky)

Fifty-seven members of Congress submitted applications for this award, which is held every two years. Applicants were judged on their voting record, sponsored/co-sponsored legislation, and efforts to promote legislation that supports working families. In addition, applicants were asked to submit policies and practices within their own offices that support working families and flexible workplace options.

Applications were reviewed by a bipartisan steering committee co-chaired by Ted Childs, Founder and Principal of Ted Childs, LLC and Jane Swift, Founder and Principal of WNP Consulting, LLC and former Governor of Massachusetts. Other steering committee members are Pat Schroeder, former President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and former Congresswoman from Colorado; and Deborah Pryce, attorney at Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice and former Congresswoman from Ohio.

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