The CGS Congressional Champion Award recognizes members of Congress who demonstrate remarkable work in championing graduate education through the federal policy process. This distinction honors up to two members of either the House of Representatives or the Senate, annually. The selection process will carefully weigh the efforts of a candidate’s tenure in Congress and will be a non-partisan process. The award will carry no monetary recognition and will adhere to the House and Senate Ethics Committees’ rules on gift giving. 

Eligibility for Selection

To be selected for the CGS Congressional Champion Award, the member of Congress must:

• Be serving in Congress at the time the award is slated to be presented to him/her;
• Have demonstrated strong advocacy for graduate education issues related to CGS’s Federal Policy Agenda (ex- introduced legislation, gone on record supporting graduate education during a Congressional hearing, served in a leadership role on a committee of jurisdiction or Congressional caucus that advanced graduate education issues);
• Not be a prior recipient of the CGS Congressional Champion Award.

2020 Recipients

Representative Annie Kuster (NH-02) led the introduction of the Expanding Access to Graduate Education Act (H.R. 3334), which would provide former Pell Grant recipients the opportunity to apply remaining semesters of Pell Grant support not exhausted during their undergraduate education towards their first post-baccalaureate degree. True to the spirit of the Pell Grant program, this legislation would help ensure that qualified, low-income students would have a better chance of pursuing graduate education. We applaud Representative Kuster who worked to introduce the bill alongside her colleagues from both sides of the aisle.

Representative Rodney Davis (IL-13) has fought tirelessly to preserve and expand certain tax provisions so that individuals and employers can utilize them toward academic pursuits. He has introduced and is an original cosponsor of several bills that support this endeavor, including championing legislation that would expand employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans. Additionally, Congressman Davis has lent his support to international students and the Optional Practical Training program, elevating their contributions to the U.S. at a time when the pandemic has created challenges for international graduate student recruitment and retention.

See the press release for further details.