Washington — Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates, Congressman Joe Barton who is chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Senator John Ensign who is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness, all received the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) Digital Patriot Awards at a dinner here Wednesday night.
Hosted by CEA’s president/CEO Gary Shapiro, the evening featured a video from President Bush who said the award winners exemplify the “can-do spirit of America.” The awards honor “those who have opened the door for the innovations that have redefined our business and personal lives,” according to CEA, and they are the year’s “foremost industry and policy leaders behind our most cutting-edge technology and the legal and regulatory framework that allows the industry to flourish.”