Washington, D.C. - The Aspen Institute’s annual Bipartisanship Award was bestowed Wednesday night on U.S. Reps. Tim Johnson and Steven Israel, co-founders of the Center Aisle Caucus.

The Congressmen were honored by the Institute at a dinner at the Hall of Flags at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington, D.C. The occasion also was marked by a panel discussion on “The Future of Civility in American Politics” by former House speakers Thomas Foley and Bob Michel, former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and former New Jersey Governor and EPA Director Christine Todd Whitman.

“To be recognized by the Aspen Institute and these distinguished guests this way underscores the importance of our work in trying to bring a higher level of statesmanship to our offices and to the capital,” said Rep. Johnson. “We’ve made progress in the relatively short time that the Center Aisle Caucus has been formed, but as we can see from the battles around us, much work remains to be done in correcting the crippling effects of strident and uncompromising partisanship.”

Johnson, a Republican from Urbana, and Israel, a Democrat from New York, formed the Center Aisle Caucus in February of 2005.

The Aspen Institute is a Washington-based think tank run by Walter Isaacson, the former chairman and CEO of CNN and former managing editor of Time magazine.

The mission of the Aspen Institute is to foster enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conference and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and appreciation for timeless values.

For more information about the Institute and Wednesday night’s dinner, go to www.aspeninstitute.org.

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