The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S5904 on June 1, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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REMEMBERING FRANCES NAM
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, today I want to speak about an extraordinary young woman who has left us far too soon. On May 15, my former staff member Frances Nam died after a 3-year battle with lung cancer. Fran was just 39 years old. She left behind two beautiful daughters--Seanna, age 11, and Henna, age 9.
In the mid to late 1990s, Fran was my legislative assistant on all matters related to appropriations, immigration, housing, judicial appointments, and matters under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. She was a standout staff member in every way: always enthusiastic and diligent about her work, always caring about her colleagues, and an exemplary public servant who cared deeply about our constituents.
In January 1999, Frances went to work for U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service, CRS, DOJ's race relations mediation arm. This job brought out another side of Fran: the compassionate but cool-headed mediator, a master of human relations. CRS sent Frances all over the country, wherever ethnic communities were at odds with one another, to prevent or soothe civil strife and bring disparate people together despite their differences. Originally a political appointee in the Clinton administration, Fran stayed at CRS until 2003 as a senior policy adviser.
Frances then went to work as senior policy adviser to the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. Along with her primary legislative and policy duties, Fran was the Congresswoman's liaison to the Congressional Black Caucus, CBC. In this role she became the first non-African American to organize a CBC annual legislative conference, and she is still remembered fondly by CBC members and staff for her charm, efficiency, and diplomatic skills.
Since late 2003, Frances has worked as vice president of Government Affairs for Sodexo USA, a major food service company. Here, in addition to working with Congress as well as State and local governments, Fran was known for her extraordinary efforts to open new educational and career opportunities for Asian Americans and other people of color.
Outside her working life, Fran was a vivacious young woman who enjoyed a wide circle of friends and her two loving daughters. A woman who truly loved her work and life, she was recently the subject of an article in Working Woman magazine on successful working mothers.
In her all-too-brief life, Frances Nam made a deep and lasting difference in the lives of many people--here in the Senate, in communities across the country, and in her own close community of family, friends, and colleagues. She will be deeply and truly missed.
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