President Barack Obama awarded two Hoosiers the nation’s top civilian honor Tuesday night.
Lee Hamilton and William Ruckelshaus were recognized in the White House East Room Tuesday night, along with Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand and Willie Mays, to name a few others.
Hamilton served in Congress for more than three decades before becoming vice chair of the 9/11 commission.
Obama described Hamilton as a rare politician who earned the respect of both Democrats and Republicans, as a "man widely admired on both sides of the aisle for his honesty, his wisdom and consistent commitment to bipartisanship.”
Ruckelshaus is originally from Indianapolis and served as the first administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Obama says he continually put people before politics.
“Most importantly Bill set a powerful precedent that protecting our environment is something we must come together and do as a country," the president said.
Ruckelshaus says he considers his work with the EPA his greatest accomplishment.
