Washington ? Lawmakers honored the Dalai Lama with a human rights award Tuesday even as President Barack Obama faced harsh criticism for delaying a meeting with the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama and Obama will not meet until after Obama visits Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing in November. China reviles the Dalai Lama and pressures foreign governments not to meet with him. The Obama administration, which needs Chinese support for crucial foreign policy, economic and environmental goals, wants to establish friendly ties between Hu and Obama during next month’s visit.

While the Obama administration was accused of “kowtowing” to Beijing’s wishes, supporters of the Dalai Lama gathered at the Capitol as the Tibetan monk was given an award in memory of the late Rep. Tom Lantos of California, a Holocaust survivor and longtime champion of human rights.