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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2002
Contact: Beth Daley (202) 347-1122 Scott Armstrong to Receive POGO's "Beyond the Headlines Award" June 17 The nonprofit Project On Government Oversight (POGO) will give its 2002 "Beyond the Headlines Award" to Scott Armstrong, an investigative journalist and executive director of the Information Trust. In giving the award, POGO particularly recognizes Mr. Armstrong's tireless efforts to make government more transparent and open to the public. In 2001, Mr. Armstrong played an instrumental role in stopping the "Official Secrets Act," a provision that would have criminalized information disclosures by federal employees or whistleblowers for the first time in U.S. history. Thanks in large part to Mr. Armstrong's efforts, President Clinton vetoed the "Official Secrets Act" last year. Mr. Armstrong is the founder of the National Security Archive, a research institute that collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Mr. Armstrong is the co-author with Bob Woodward of The Brethren, a narrative account of the Supreme Court from 1969 through 1976, and assisted Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward as a researcher and writer on The Final Days. He has been inducted into the FOIA Hall of Fame and awarded the James Madison Awarded by the American Library Association. At the award ceremony, POGO will also honor retiring Representative Stephen Horn (R-CA) with the "Good Government Award." Representative Horn has often fought to end government, waste, fraud and abuse. Representative Horn has also been a staunch supporter of government transparency. POGO's award ceremony will take place Monday, June 17, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. at the Mott House, 122 Maryland Avenue NE in Washington, DC. Tickets for the event cost $30, but journalists and news media may attend on a complimentary basis. To RSVP for the event, email danni@pogo.org or call Danni at 202-347-1122. POGO created the "Beyond the Headlines Award" to honor an activist, journalist, politician, federal employee, or whistleblower who has worked beyond the news media headlines to positively influence public policy. Previous "Beyond the Headlines Award" winners include former Pentagon Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Philip Coyle, Senator Charles Grassley, EPA Ombudsman Robert Martin, and Grand Canyon Trust's Bill Hedden. For more information about the Beyond the Headlines Award, click here. POGO investigates, exposes, and seeks to remedy systemic abuses of power, mismanagement, and subservience by the federal government to powerful special interests. Founded in 1981, POGO is a politically-independent, nonprofit watchdog that strives to promote a government that is accountable to the citizenry.
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