Government Officials and Industry Leader to be Honored at CEA’s Digital Patriots Dinner for Roles in Advancing Innovation

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced that U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and U.S. Congressmen Jared Polis (D-CO) and Greg Walden (R-OR) will be honored for their support of technology innovation at the ninth annual Digital Patriots Dinner. Joseph Clayton, president and CEO of Dish Network LLC, also will be honored for his role in advancing innovation. CEA’s Digital Patriots dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, April 17 at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC.

“destroy the internet as we know it.”

“We couldn’t be more proud to honor our 2013 Digital Patriots and to launch a new Innovation Policy Ninja award, recognizing a forward thinking legislator who advances public policies that will spur innovation for years to come. This year’s class has unprecedented passion for technology and supports innovation that is critical to the consumer electronics industry,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “These policy leaders and technology visionaries know that our industry creates jobs, improves lives and drives the American economy. They have all proven themselves as exemplary advocates for advancing innovation.”

After serving seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kansas elected Jerry Moran to the U.S. Senate in 2010. He is a leading advocate for issues related to entrepreneurship, job creation and innovation. Committed to putting policies in place that foster a pro-growth environment where businesses can succeed, last year Senator Moran successfully led the opposition to defeat the Protect IP Act (PIPA), because of its impact on innovation, free speech and national security. He also is active in encouraging Congress to develop smart spectrum policy and is the author of Startup Act 3.0, a bipartisan bill that seeks to unleash the job-creating power of entrepreneurs to innovate, create and grow the economy.

U.S. Congressman Jared Polis was first elected to represent Colorado’s Second Congressional District in 2008 and currently serves on the Committee on Rules, the Committee on the Judiciary and the House Democratic Steering Committee. An ardent foe of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Polis fought to defeat SOPA saying it would “destroy the internet as we know it.” Representative Polis is a champion for technology having co-founded his first company, America Information Systems, while attending Princeton University. A success he followed by launching bluemountain.com and Proflowers.com. He has been named an “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst and Young.

U.S. Congressman Greg Walden will be honored with the inaugural Innovation Policy Ninja award for his work as the lead champion of crucial spectrum reform legislation last year, and for his leadership and foresight that will enable the advancement of wireless innovation for decades to come. Walden is in his eighth term for Oregon’s Second Congressional District, and after spending more than two decades in the radio business, he puts that experience to work as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. This jurisdiction includes oversight of the Federal Communications Commission and telecommunications policy from smartphones to satellites and the Internet.

Joseph Clayton, a 40-year veteran of the consumer electronics, telecommunications and satellite communications industries, is the president and chief executive officer of DISH Network and serves on the company’s board of directors. Prior to joining DISH in 2011, Clayton was chief executive officer of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. from 2001 through 2004, then Chairman until 2008. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in the discovery and implementation of numerous consumer electronics products including the VCR, DVDs, satellite TV, HDTV and satellite radio. Clayton was a four-year member of the EchoStar Board of Directors and a former Chairman of CEA.

All proceeds from the Digital Patriots Dinner will be donated to Bright Beginnings and the CEA Foundation.

Press is encouraged to register for the Digital Patriots Dinner in advance.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $209 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online: www.CE.org and www.DeclareInnovation.com. Follow CES at www.CESweb.org and through both CEA and CES social media channels.

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