Senators Byrd and Lugar received the 2003 Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award from the Center for National Policy. The award honors those who have made significant contributions to the public interest, focusing on individuals who can hold to principle and also cooperate in service of the common good. When accepting the award, Senator Byrd honored past politicians who had given up their private careers to enter public service and deprecated the factors that might have dissuaded them today such as partisanship, negative campaigning, and campaign financing. Senator Lugar spoke about the service of Senators Byrd and Muskie and about the bi-partisan efforts for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.