This week CNP is presenting the
Edmund
S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service
Award to U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta, and I can't think of no one who better
exemplifies Edmund Muskie's leadership and
dedication to public service than
Secretary
Panetta.
Ed
Muskie first served our nation as a
Lieutenant in U.S. Navy during the Second World
War. After the war, he was elected to the Maine
House of Representatives, then to the
Governor's Mansion, and ultimately the U.S.
Senate, in 1958. After 22 years, he resigned
his Senate position to become
Secretary
of State for President Jimmy Carter, humbly
stating, "Of all the jobs I've been ambitious
for, this is one that never crossed my
mind."
For all his ambition, however,
Muskie remained committed to public service,
civic responsibility, and open dialogue on
critical policy issues throughout his long and
storied career.
At his core, Ed Muskie
was a consensus-builder. As a Democrat in an
overwhelmingly Republican state, he exhibited
an unparalleled capacity to convince and
compromise with political opponents. As the
first chairman of the Senate Budget Committee
and the father of the modern congressional
budget process, Muskie demonstrated an innate
ability to forge bipartisan solutions to tough
national challenges.
Muskie was also an
ardent
defender
of the environment. Before Ed Muskie the
federal government did not touch pollution. Not
only was the government asleep at the wheel
when it came to regulation of toxins, there was
no national forum to discuss environmental
issues. One of Ed Muskie's
lasting
legacies is the great body of environmental
law that guides our national policy discussion.
While "regulation" has become a curse word in
today's Washington, Ed Muskie embodied the idea
that regulation, when pursued with
common-sense, can benefit job creators and the
general public alike.
His
reputation for enacting lasting legislation
through bipartisan support made Muskie one of
the most effective and respected members of the
Senate. For his lifelong devotion to
government, legislative skill, and willingness
to compromise on everything except principle,
Muskie was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1981. Upon his
death
in 1996, he was interred at Arlington
National Cemetery.
Much like Ed Muskie,
Leon Panetta was also a Lieutenant (though in
the U.S. Army) and a former member of Congress,
representing the state of California for 16
years. Secretary Panetta not only crossed paths
with Muskie on the Congressional floor, but
held the chairmanship of the
House
Budget Committee, mirroring one of Muskie's
key roles in the Senate. Panetta also served as
OMB director, developing the package that
resulted in the 1998 balanced budget agreement.
This monumental achievement illustrates
Panetta's own commitment to bipartisanship and
civic responsibility.
Also akin to
Muskie, Panetta has long been an advocate for
the environment. He served for three years as
chairman and commissioner of the
Pew
Oceans Commission, and wrote numerous acts
that continue to protect the California coast
during his tenure as a lawmaker.
Panetta
continued his illustrious career as White House
Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and,
most recently, as director of the CIA and
Secretary of Defense under President Obama. We
are pleased to present him with
this
year's award, as he follows in the
footsteps of another great American statesman –
Ed Muskie.
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