[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E861-E862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JOSEPH C. BELL TRIBUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2015

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute today to Joseph C. 
Bell, a visionary attorney who recently received one of Poland's 
highest awards in recognition of his efforts to build a new economy 
from the rubble of communism.
  Mr. Bell received the Polish Commanders Cross in Warsaw on May 13, 
2015, to honor his dedicated service, over a quarter century ago, ``in 
furthering Poland's systemic and economic transformation.'' Working 
with the Polish Ministry of Finance under Leszek Balcerowicz, Mr. Bell 
stepped forward to help build a new and robust free-market system in 
the wake of the 1989 elections that saw Solidarity leader Tadeusz 
Mazowiecki named prime minister.
  The goal under the first non-communist government in the post-World 
War II period was to accomplish what had never been done before--to 
build new capitalist institutions in record time to stir the Polish 
economy from decades of mismanagement and integrate the nation into the 
economies of Western Europe.
  As a partner at the Washington firm of Hogan & Hartson with over 20 
years of regulatory and commercial experience, Mr. Bell ably served as 
pro-bono counsel to the Polish Ministry of Finance in the critical 
years of 1989 to 1990, when the government launched reforms through 
``shock therapy'' changes to Poland's economic system.
  His experience in project finance and as a leading advocate of 
introducing competition into closed energy markets in the U.S. was 
invaluable in taking on the challenges of creating capital markets, a 
stock exchange, a convertible currency, orderly privatization and other 
features of a free-market system. The rapidity and scope of the changes 
were nothing less than a leap of faith into uncharted legal and 
economic waters.
  The challenges were immense: Poland was suffering acute 
hyperinflation, falling productivity, huge foreign debt and shortages 
of consumer goods. As part of an intrepid team of advisers that 
included economist Jeffrey Sachs, Mr. Bell's tireless work helped usher 
in breathtaking reforms that stemmed inflation, attracted foreign 
investment, relieved Poland of its debt burden, and increased 
productivity.
  The miracle turnaround of Poland's economy, coupled with the rise of 
democracy, paved the way for the nation to secure NATO membership and 
join the European Union.
  Mr. Bell returned full-time to his law practice in Washington, D.C., 
in 1990 but that didn't end his commitment to helping emerging nations. 
His expertise has taken him to Mongolia, Liberia, Sao Tome & Principe, 
among others, to help structure extraction systems that work for the 
benefit of the many rather than enriching the few.
  Currently serving Of Counsel to Hogan Lovells, Mr. Bell's work to 
shape mining and energy policy in Africa, Asia, and the Mideast--
including the management of extraction revenues and general issues of 
transparency and governance--will have a lasting impact.
  Mr. Bell's career milestones also include serving as general counsel 
to Citizens Energy Corporation, which my father founded to use 
successful energy ventures to generate revenues to help the poor, from 
its inception up to 1989; working as Assistant General Counsel in the 
Federal Energy Administration; serving on the Duke Law School faculty 
and as an attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice 
Department.
  Since 2001, the 1968 Yale Law School graduate has also been 
associated with the

[[Page E862]]

International Senior Lawyers Project, which provides volunteer legal 
services to promote the rule of law, economic development and human 
rights in developing countries.
  Between his legal expertise, dedication to public service, advocacy 
for human rights and social justice, and broad range of volunteer 
experience, Mr. Bell embodies the tradition of the ``Wise Men of 
Washington''--in the best sense of the term.
  Mr. Speaker, I once again want to congratulate Mr. Bell for the 
honors accorded to him by the Polish government and to thank him for a 
long career of service to our nation and the international community.

                          ____________________