U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) has been awarded the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest recognition the Navy can confer upon a civilian.

In making the award, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus cited Sen. Warner’s efforts on both the Senate’s Budget and Intelligence committees to support military men and women and their families. The citation also cites Sen. Warner’s efforts to blunt the potential harmful impacts on the Navy from the rigid, across-the-board budget cuts mandated by the sequester.

“Supporting Virginia’s military men and women, their families and our veterans is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Sen. Warner said. “I am grateful to the Navy and to Secretary Mabus and accept this honor on behalf of all Virginians. In recent weeks, I have been working closely with military leaders and congressional colleagues to try to find a responsible and commonsense way to rationalize the across-the-board spending cuts mandated by the sequester. And I am pleased we now appear to be moving forward with a more pragmatic process—one that will provide the Navy and our other military services with the flexibility they need to make smarter budget decisions.”