On Sept. 18, 2012, the Cecil D. Andrus Award for Political Leadership was presented to former United States Senator Alan K. Simpson.
About the 2012 Recipient
The Andrus Award Recipient Alan K. Simpson represented Wyoming in the U.S. Senate for 18 years and during that time served as the Republican Whip, chaired the Veterans Affairs Committee and was a member of both the Judiciary and Aging Committees.
His post-Senate career has seen him continue his public service with great distinction, including serving as co-chair of the presidentially-appointed Simpson-Bowles Commission where he has helped force a national dialogue about the urgency of federal budget and tax reform.
Sen. Simpson sponsored the last successful bi-partisan immigration reform legislation and served on the bi-partisan Iraq Study Committee.
Sen. Alan K. Simpson is the kind of leader that has become all too rare in politics today – candid, courageous, honest, willing to work on serious problems with people he doesn’t always agree with.
He is an American political leader of the first order.