[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E365-E366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE SERVICE OF FRANCINE KERNER, CHIEF COUNSEL, TRANSPORTATION 
                        SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JAMIE RASKIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2025

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Francine Kerner, 
who retired on February 28, as Chief Counsel of the Transportation 
Security Administration (TSA) after dedicating over 50 years of her 
career to public service.
  On September 11, 2001, Ms. Kerner woke up and went to work, just like 
any other day. For her, that was as Deputy Assistant General

[[Page E366]]

Counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Enforcement Division. 
She was in her office at Main Treasury when the terrorist attacks 
began. That fateful day changed the worId and changed Ms. Kerner's 
life.
  A few weeks later, Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation 
Security Act and established TSA. Ms. Kerner was one of a small group 
of federal workers chosen to stand up the fledgling agency with a 
monumental task ahead of them.
  To secure U.S. passengers and the American people from the grave 
threat posed by airline hijackers, Congress mandated that TSA begin 
screening passengers and checked baggage at 450 commercial airports 
within just a few months. Meeting these deadlines at the time required 
the largest mobilization of the federal government since WWII and the 
largest civilian undertaking in the history of the U.S. government.
  As TSA Chief Counsel, Ms. Kerner was responsible for providing the 
legal and policy advice for this record level of mobilization. For the 
next 23 years, she served as a principal architect of TSA's mission-
critical programs and operations, supported by the outstanding team of 
attorneys she recruited, guided, and whose careers in Federal Service 
she unstintingty advanced.
  Prior to being named TSA's Chief Counsel, Ms. Kerner's Federal career 
spanned two decades, beginning as Counsel to the Inspector General (IG) 
at the Commerce Department in 1979 before serving in several managerial 
positions at the Treasury. She later helped the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, and Firearms overhaul its fair hiring, promotion and 
professional development programs.
  Ms. Kerner found her way into public service after earning her law 
degree at the New York University School of Law in 1974. While at NYU 
Law, she interned for the New York City Law Department and served with 
such distinction that her supervisor, Mary P. Bass, later asked her to 
work in the Carter Administration where Ms. Bass was serving as the 
first IG at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
  Ms. Kerner is the recipient of numerous awards earned throughout her 
career of service, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Awards 
in 2001 and 2022; the American University Roger W. Jones Award in 2023; 
the D.C. Bar Association's Beatrice Rosenberg Award for Excellence in 
Government Service; the Burton Award for Public Service in the 
Government; and the TSA Federal Woman's Program Trailblazer Award in 
2011, in recognition of her efforts to advance the career of women at 
TSA.
  Throughout her career, Ms. Kerner never lost sight of the importance 
of family. She was careful to foster a family-friendly environment in 
each office she led. Her devotion to her own family set a powerful 
example for the many employees that she supervised and mentored across 
her decades in federal service. I want to conclude by recognizing her 
husband Michael Klein, her children Elizabeth and Adam, her daughter-
in-law Robin, and her grandchildren, Maxine, Louis and Sidney. On 
behalf of a grateful Nation and the residents of Maryland's beautiful 
Eighth District, I wish Francine Kerner and her family nothing but the 
best as they begin this new chapter in their lives.

                          ____________________