Celebrating 25 years of excellence in government at the 2026 Service to America Medals(R) ceremony. 05/14/2026 On Wednesday, May 6, the Partnership for Public Service hosted the 25th annual Service to America Medals(R) awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Service to America Medals - also known as the Sammies and considered the "Oscars of public service" - is the premier awards program for career federal employees, honoring exceptional public servants who keep its nation running and moving forward. 25 years of recognizing government's best. This year marks a double milestone: the 25th anniversary of both the Partnership for Public Service and the Service to America Medals program. Since 2002, the Sammies have recognized over 800 federal employees, and this anniversary offered a unique opportunity to reflect on their remarkable contributions to its country. This milestone reaffirms the Partnership's commitment to support its nation's public servants and help ensure its government retains the necessary expertise to effectively serve the public good. In this spirit, the Partnership recognized four new honorees - three individuals and one team - across four themes: safer, stronger, healthier and more prosperous. An inside look at the 2026 Service to America Medals gala. Emceed by award-winning journalist Ari Shapiro, the 25th anniversary gala served as an essential demonstration of why Public Service Recognition week need effective government and what Public Service Recognition week stand to lose when it is undermined and weakened. The evening featured leaders from different administrations, including video messages from Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden, both of whom praised the dedication of its nation's civil servants. This recognition continued on stage with a lineup of presenters that included former White House Chiefs of Staff Joshua Bolten and Jeff Zients. Other notable presenters included NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, PBS NewsHour co-anchor Amna Nawaz and podcast host Kelly Corrigan. Bestselling author Michael Lewis joined Partnership President and CEO Max Stier for a fireside chat reflecting on 25 years of the Partnership.

Partnership for Public Service launches The Cost to Your Community tool to show federal government impact across U.S. New Federal Harms Tracker product aims to document how federal workforce reductions and funding cuts affect states, cities and towns nationwide through data and storytelling WASHINGTON - The nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service today launched The Cost to Your Community, an interactive tool designed to show the federal government's impact nationwide and monitor the effects of the Trump administration's cuts in states, cities, towns and communities across the U.S. This product is the newest installment of the Partnership's Federal Harms Tracker, a data and storytelling project documenting the impact of the Trump administration's unprecedented campaign to dismantle federal institutions, funding streams and infrastructure, which began in January and has intensified during the longest government shutdown in history. Beginning with pre-2025 data, The Cost to Your Community combines state and congressional district-level information on federal personnel, assistance, contracts, and infrastructure to provide a layered view of the federal government's role in communities across the country. It also features over 500 local stories of harm, with at least one story for every congressional district in the country. The tool will expand as new information becomes available, to give a clearer picture of how communities are affected by workforce reductions, funding cuts and a changing physical presence. "President Trump's sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and programs that millions of Americans rely on have had devastating impacts for communities nationwide that could take decades to repair," said Partnership for Public Service President and CEO Max Stier. "The Cost to Your Community map makes plain that cuts to the federal government aren't just a beltway issue - they transcend state boundaries and reach every corner of the United States." Stier added: "The ongoing government shutdown compounds this harm each day, potentially delaying critical programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and veterans' benefits while hampering our government's ability to prepare for the future." As the map demonstrates, federal institutions play a significant role in cities and towns nationwide: * In 2024, there were over 2.3 million federal employees in the United States, with more than 80% located outside the Washington, D.C., area. * While Washington, D.C., and its suburbs serve as a government hub, the federal footprint extends far beyond the Beltway. California, Texas, Florida and Georgia are each home to more than 80,000 federal workers. * Last year, over $1 trillion in grants and direct payments, and over $600 billion in contracts, flowed from the federal government to recipients in states and localities across the nation. The Partnership's catalog of over 500 news stories from reputable media outlets across the country and first-person accounts from impacted organizations also offers a snapshot of the harm and impact seen across the country due to federal cuts. Cancelled funding for nonprofits, housing programs, and public broadcasting has weakened essential local support systems, while diminished investment in emergency response and energy infrastructure has left communities more vulnerable to crises. This new tool combines federal data sources to provide a community-level view of the government's footprint, drawing on the Office of Personnel Management's FedScope database and the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey for personnel counts (as of September 2024), USASpending's datasets for fiscal year 2024 assistance and contract obligations to state and local governments, and Government Service Administration's fiscal year 2024 property inventory for federally owned and leased infrastructure. This is the third product released under the Partnership's Federal Harms Tracker. The Cost to Your Government compiles announced and confirmed employee reductions across federal agencies on a monthly basis, sourced from official government documents and news reports, and links them to specific risks and harms for individuals and communities across the nation, while The Cost of the Shutdown features daily stories about the harm caused by the interruption of vital services provided by the government. During the past 24 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We work across administrations to help transform the way government works by providing agencies with the data insights they need to succeed, developing effective leaders, inspiring the next generation to public service, facilitating smooth presidential transitions and recognizing exceptional federal employees.