[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1116-H1118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING GRIFFIN BELL

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 71) acknowledging the lifelong service 
of Griffin Boyette Bell to the State of Georgia and the United States 
as a legal icon.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                               H. Res. 71

       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell was born on October 31, 1918, 
     in Americus, Georgia, to Thelma Leola Pilcher and Adlai 
     Cleveland Bell, a cotton farmer;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell died on January, 5, 2009, at 
     Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, after enduring long-
     term kidney disease and a battle with pancreatic cancer;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell was raised in the Shiloh 
     community outside of Americus until his family moved into 
     Americus to establish a tire retail store;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell proved himself a superior 
     student in the Americus public schools and later at Georgia 
     Southwestern College also in Americus;
       Whereas in 1942, Griffin Boyette Bell was drafted into the 
     Army, where he served in the Quatermaster Corps and 
     Transportation Corps;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell, while stationed at Fort Lee, 
     Virginia, met and married Mary Powell, who also had family 
     ties in Americus, Georgia, and they later had one son, 
     Griffin Jr;
       Whereas in 1946, Griffin Boyette Bell, after being 
     discharged from active duty in the Army with the rank of 
     Major, enrolled in the Walter F. George School of Law at 
     Mercer University in Macon, Georgia;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell worked at the firm Anderson, 
     Anderson, and Walker while in law school;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell, while still a law student, 
     passed the Georgia bar examination and was appointed city 
     attorney of Warner Robins, Georgia;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell, after graduating Mercer 
     University law school with honors in 1948, practiced law in 
     Savannah, Georgia, and Rome, Georgia;
       Whereas in 1953, Griffin Boyette Bell accepted an offer to 
     join the Atlanta law firm of Spalding Sibley Troutman and 
     Kelley, later renamed King and Spalding;
       Whereas in 1958, Griffin Boyette Bell was appointed chief 
     of staff to Governor Ernest Vandiver and while serving in 
     that capacity was influential in organizing the Sibley 
     Commission, which mapped Georgia's approach to school 
     desegregation;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell, while as chief of staff to 
     Governor Ernest Vandiver, also helped moderate State policy 
     concerning civil rights and was instrumental in keeping 
     Georgia's schools open during that turbulent period;
       Whereas in 1961, Griffin Boyette Bell was appointed by 
     President Kennedy to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 
     where he served for 14 years and often played an instrumental 
     role in mediating disputes during the peak of the United 
     States Civil Rights Movement;
       Whereas in 1976, President Jimmy Carter nominated Griffin 
     Boyette Bell to be the 72nd Attorney General of the United 
     States and he was confirmed to that position on January 25, 
     1977;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell brought independence and 
     professionalism to the Department of Justice during his 
     tenure as Attorney General by daily posting of his third-
     party contacts, including meetings and calls with the White 
     House, Members of Congress, or other non-Justice Department 
     individuals;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell in his capacity as Attorney 
     General, advised the Carter administration and helped to 
     increase the number of women and minorities serving on the 
     Federal bench by recruiting Wade McCree, an African-American 
     Eighth Circuit judge, to serve as Solicitor General of the 
     United States and Drew S. Days III, an African-American 
     lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to head the Civil 
     Rights Division of the Department of Justice;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell also led negotiations to 
     divide his former appellate court, the 5th Circuit spanning 
     from Georgia to Texas, into two courts: a new 5th Circuit 
     based in New Orleans and an 11th Circuit based in Atlanta;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell, upon resignation as Attorney 
     General in August 1979, was appointed by President Carter as 
     the Special Ambassador to the Helsinki Convention;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell served as a member of the 
     Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on South Africa from 
     1985 to 1987;
       Whereas in 1989, Griffin Boyette Bell was appointed Vice 
     Chairman of President George H. W. Bush's Commission on 
     Federal Ethics Law Reform;
       Whereas Griffin Boyette Bell served as counsel to President 
     George H. W. Bush during the Iran Contra Affair 
     investigation;
       Whereas in September of 2004, Griffin Boyette Bell was 
     appointed the Chief Judge of the United States Court of 
     Military Commission Review; and
       Whereas during Griffin Boyette Bell's career as a lawyer, 
     he specialized in corporate internal investigations, and many 
     that were high profile, including E.F. Hutton following

[[Page H1117]]

     Federal indictments for its cash management practices, Exxon 
     Valdez after an oil spill in Alaska, and Procter and Gamble 
     after rumors circulated that the company's moon-and-stars 
     logo was a satanic symbol: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) acknowledges the lifelong service of Griffin Boyette 
     Bell to the State of Georgia and the United States as a legal 
     icon; and
       (2) commends Griffin Boyette Bell for his tenure as 
     Attorney General of the United States and his commitment to 
     the American Civil Rights Movement.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will yield myself as much time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today we honor the lifelong service of Griffin Boyette 
Bell to the legal profession and to the American civil rights movement. 
I want to thank Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia for introducing 
this fitting tribute to one of Georgia's native sons.
  Griffin Bell was born in 1918 in rural Sumter County, the son of a 
cotton farmer. His family relocated to Americus, the county seat, when 
the advance of the boll weevil devastated cotton crops.
  Griffin Bell excelled at school and for a while attended Georgia 
Southwestern College and worked in his father's successful tire shop. 
When duty called in 1942, Griffin enlisted in the U.S. Army serving in 
the Quartermaster Corps, the Transportation Corps, where he rose to the 
rank of Major.
  After the Army, he attended Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer 
University in Macon, Georgia, graduating with honors. While still in 
law school, he was appointed city attorney of Warner Robins, Georgia. 
He practiced law in both Savannah and Rome, Georgia, eventually joining 
the Atlanta law firm now known as King and Spalding.
  In 1959, he returned to public service as chief of staff to Governor 
Ernest Vandiver. One of his responsibilities was helping guide the 
State of Georgia in implementing the Supreme Court's Brown versus Board 
of Education decision requiring that public schools be desegregated--
which was a matter that was creating public and political tensions 
throughout the South.
  Working with the blue-ribbon Sibley Commission that he organized, he 
navigated a steady but incremental approach which helped Georgia 
implement the Brown decision without the school closings and other 
public rancor experienced elsewhere.
  Griffin Bell's handling of this and other matters for Governor 
Vandiver brought him to the attention of President Kennedy, who 
appointed him in 1961 to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which 
used to incorporate the State of Georgia, but now Georgia is in the 
11th Circuit.
  In addition, among the many cases he dealt with during his 14 years 
on the bench were numerous school desegregation cases throughout the 
States from Texas to Georgia and Florida where he worked with a great 
deal of success to ensure that the Brown mandate was carried forward 
resolutely, but also with the cooperation and support of school boards 
and local communities whenever possible.
  I had the opportunity to practice before the Fifth Circuit to promote 
civil rights on many occasions, including one case where I represented 
the NAACP in a voting rights case. In that case, the NAACP was denied 
an application to conduct voter registration drives. The court decided 
that the city could not prevent the NAACP from conducting voter 
registration drives if this would have a discriminatory effect, a 
decision which might not have been possible had lawyers and judges like 
Griffin Bell not had the courage to stand up for civil rights over the 
course of decades.
  Judge Bell retired from the bench in March of 1976 only to be called 
back to public service soon thereafter by President-elect Jimmy Carter, 
who nominated him to be Attorney General of the United States. He was 
instrumental in restoring morale and public confidence at a Justice 
Department whose reputation had been severely damaged by Watergate. And 
he helped greatly increase the representation of women and minorities 
on the Federal bench.
  Judge Bell returned to King and Spalding in 1979, but he remained 
active in public affairs not only in his community, but in national and 
international affairs as well.
  He had barely left the Justice Department when President Carter 
appointed him to lead the U.S. delegation to the Conference on Security 
and Cooperation in Europe.
  Two years later, he served as co-Chair of the Attorney General's 
National Task Force on Violent Crime, and in 1985, he accepted the 
position on the Secretary of State's advisory committee on South 
Africa. In 1989, the first President Bush appointed him to be vice 
chairman on the Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform. In 2004 at age 
86, he was commissioned as a Major General in the United States Army to 
serve as chief judge on the appeals court for reviewing military 
commission trials of enemy combatants.
  To fully list the many positions Judge Bell held and the many ways he 
served his community and his country and the world would take more time 
than we have here today. Last fall, his historical essays were 
published in a book called ``Footnotes to History.''
  Griffin Bell was anything but a footnote to history. His advancement 
of civil rights and commitment to the rule of the law will continue to 
be an inspiration to the many who worked with him, who knew him, and 
who will read about him in years to come.
  I am proud that today we celebrate his many accomplishments and honor 
his life.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume
  Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 71 which acknowledges the 
lifelong service of Griffin Bell to the State of Georgia and, of 
course, to the United States.
  Griffin Bell was the son of a cotton farmer, and he rose to become 
one of the most respected legal counselors in the whole United States. 
He was appointed by President Kennedy to serve as a judge on the Fifth 
Circuit Court of Appeals. He left the court after 14 years of service 
on that bench to rejoin the law firm of King and Spalding.
  In 1986, President Jimmy Carter nominated him to become the Attorney 
General of the United States. In that role, Judge Bell operated in a 
remarkably open manner that has not been duplicated since.
  Every day, he would publicly post his contacts with third parties, 
including meetings and calls from the White House, Members of Congress, 
and others outside the Justice Department. His efforts to strengthen 
transparency of his office did much to rebuild confidence in the 
Justice Department after the Watergate scandal.
  As Attorney General, Judge Bell led the effort to pass the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. At the time, he gave testimony 
to Congress in which he made clear that the legislation ``does not take 
away the power of the President under the Constitution.''
  Judge Bell also led negotiations that resulted in dividing his former 
appellate courts into two circuits: the Fifth Circuit, based in New 
Orleans, and the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta.
  Judge Bell was known for his love of rooster pepper sausage and for 
his wide and bold-colored ties. He was a figure full of personality as 
he was wise, and greatly respected by Members of both sides of the 
political aisle.
  Judge Bell passed away earlier this year on January 5, 2009. He and 
his sage advice and his opinions will be missed.
  As a former judge and prosecutor, I urge all of my colleagues to join 
me in supporting this resolution to honor the life of Judge Bell, a man 
committed to justice because, Mr. Speaker, justice is what we do in 
America.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the 
balance of my time.

[[Page H1118]]

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Linder).

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. LINDER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Griffin Bell was a friend of mine for maybe 20 years and a decent 
human being. I'm not going to go back and reflect on his contributions 
to his city, his State or his Nation. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Poe have 
already done that.
  He served in many capacities in a decent way, but I just want to get 
something in the record. You never, ever will understand Griffin Bell 
until you understand what a wonderful sense of humor he had.
  I moved to Georgia from Minnesota in 1969, almost 40 years ago, and 
one of the things we have in the South is respect for story telling and 
great good humor. And I have never heard a better one than Griffin 
Bell. And some of the stories he told me about he and Charlie Kirbo, 
who was another of President Carter's close personal advisers, as 
partners representing companies and individuals were just hilarious.
  I want you to know that the Nation is going to miss a great man, and 
those of us who knew him are missing a great humorist.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time, and I have no more speakers.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this H. Res, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I can think of no man who 
deserves these accolades who is greater than the late Judge Griffin 
Bell, and I look forward to this measure passing.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my friend and 
colleague Representative Jack Kingston for introducing this resolution 
to commemorate the life of--one of the giants in the legal community of 
Georgia and the Nation--Griffin Boyette Bell. His passing is a great 
loss to me, his family, and the country he proudly served. We have lost 
a true friend and a prominent leader. Mr. Bell's distinguished service 
as a civil rights advocate, U.S. attorney general, World War II 
veteran, and Federal judge reflects his lifelong commitment to public 
service and the American people.
  Born in Americus Georgia, Mr. Bell, the only son of a farmer, 
dedicated his life to helping others. Following his Army service in the 
Quartermaster and Transportation Corps during World War II, Griffin 
Bell attended the Georgia Southwestern College and went on to law 
school at Mercer College. Even before graduating, he passed the Georgia 
Bar and served as city attorney of Warner Robins, Georgia.
  Following law school, he set up a successful practice in Savannah and 
Rome and soon was invited to become a partner at the prominent law firm 
of King & Spalding. Griffin Bell could not stay out of public service 
for long. Shortly after the election of President Kennedy, he accepted 
an appointment to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
  As a judge on the Fifth U.S. Circuit, Griffin Bell acted as a 
guardian of our constitutional rights and stood in strong opposition to 
segregation and discrimination. Later, as President Carter's Attorney 
General, he was an independent advocate of justice. Watergate was still 
fresh in people's minds, and Griffin Bell focused on eliminating 
official corruption. After his work as attorney general, he returned to 
King & Spalding, but still continued to be active in the public sphere. 
He served on the State's Advisory Committee on South Africa, President 
George H.W. Bush's Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform, and was 
appointed the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Military 
Commission Review.
  Throughout his career in public service, people from all walks of 
life--rich and poor, black and white, Democrat and Republican--
benefited from his insight and wise counsel. He strove to bring people 
together and resolve differences in a fair and pragmatic manner. Put 
simply, he was a model of integrity. He was a strong influence in my 
own life and was an inspiring mentor to countless numbers of young 
people over the years. Griffin Bell was looked up to and loved by 
everyone, and he will be greatly missed.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 71.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________