mr. poe: i appreciate the chair woman for yielding time. i want to thank ms. ros-lehtinen, and especially ranking member berman, and the house leadership for getting this bill to the house floor and also mr. connelly for his -- mr. connolly for his support. this is a simple bipartisan bill. we have equal number of republicans and democrats as co-sponsors on this legislation. last year, the house foreign affairs committee passed this bill unanimously as an amendment to the state authorization bill. this bill does two things. it increases monitoring and evaluation of our foreign aid programs and also increases transparency of foreign aid. our foreign aid can do some good to other countries, but there are problems with american foreign aid. unfortunately, we don't keep track of what we're spending and we don't ask for real results. since the passage of the foreign assistance act of 1961, foreign aid programs spread across 12 departments, 25 agencies and almost 60 federal offices. there are so many federal government programs that they don't know what each other i

mr. poe: appreciate the gentleman from utah yielding time. madam speaker, frank buckles was the epitome of an american hero and a man who would do anything for this great united states of america. this is a photograph of him recently taken after he joined the united states army. frank buckles wanted to be in the united states army, he volunteered new york one would take him because, you see, he wasn't 18 he finally continued to lie about his age, convinced a recruiter he was 21 and at this age of 16 he joined the united states army in the great world war i. he wanted to get to france as soon as he could and so he volunteered to be in the ambulance service. what he did when he got to europe was rescue and pick up other dough boys in europe out of those trenches and get them behind, take them back behind american lines so that they could be taken care of their wounds and he also picked up many of our americans, 114,000 to be exact that died in the great world war i. he was allowed or was able to come back to america alive he made it through the

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the united states' state department has heartily told israel not to build homes in east jerusalem. it might upset the palestinians, sayeth the state department. it mean even hurt their feelings. the united states has no business telling israel or any other country where they can or cannot build homes in their own country. israel doesn't need a construction permit from washington to build a house on their own land. what would we think if some country told us we couldn't build homes in certain parts of our nation? we would tell that country in probably not very polite language, mind your own business. the united states again is meddling in the eternal fairs of a sovereign nation. this is the arrogance of power. in the meantime, prime minister netanyahu of israel is going ahead with the housing project, without the united states' building permit, and good for him. and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the last thing you want to do is to raise taxes in the middle of a recession because that would put businesses in a further hole. that was president obama in 2009. but that was then and this is now. president obama now says he wants to save us all by raising taxes on some americans. but the idea is flawed. one, the plan only funds the government for a few days. then what's the plan, mr. president? two, according to the senate budget committee, 735% of the new taxes will go toward spending, not deficit reduction. this plan won't work to solve our economic woes. the problem is the government just spends too much. where's the plan to cut spending? there isn't one. we got here by spending too much, not taxing too little. after all, the last thing you do in a recession is raise taxes. quoting the president. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. any further requests for one-minute speeches? the chair lays before the house t

mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. according to "the boston globe," chen wu was beaten, choked, punched and held at knifepoint by a chinese national, wong chen, and that was in 2006. her attacker was sent to prison in texas, supposedly never to be heard of again, or so she thought. four years later, wu was sitting along in her apartment when guess who shows up? the person who assaulted her to begin with, and chen came busting through her door. he reportedly said in a taunting voice, i bet you didn't expect to see me here. wu quickly called the police and chen fled the scene. two weeks later he returned to finish what he began four years ago, and chen beat ms. wu to death with a hammer, stabbed her to death, leaving her to die in her very own pool of blood. mr. speaker, ms. wu's death didn't have to occur. this could have been prevented. chen should not have been back on the streets after serving time in prison, but he was and here's why. after he served the initial se

mr. poe: i thank the gentleman from utah for yielding. and his support on this legislation. and also the gentlewoman from district of columbia. madam speaker, they said that world war i would be the war to end all wars, but it wasn't. it was a world war, it encompassed the entire globe and most of the countries in the world. the war started in 1914, the united states entered in april of 1917. the united states entered the war for three main reasons. one, the sinking of the british liner, lusitania, and 128 americans being killed in that submarine attack. and then seven u.s. merchant marine ships were sunk by german submarines when they had unconditional rights to sink any ship on the high seas, according to the german government. and the third thing was when the germans sent the zimmerman tell gram to mexico. madam speaker, a lot of americans don't know what that was, but basically the germans were telling the country of mexico if they would enter the war on the side of germany, the central powers, they would help mexico invade the united states and take the states of texas,

mr. poe: mr. speaker, starting at the age of 15, i worked any job i could find to support myself throughout college. manually dug ditches, construction work, plant work. after college i found an entry-level position in the field in which i sturdied. and with hard work i have constantly been employed for 36 years and now i'm near retirement. i've never requested or received any federal financial assistance. i enjoy contributing to my community and my church and this is my american dream. now this administration wants to increase the taxes i pay for being a success. as my grandmother would say, if you can work, do so. and never let your pride or laziness get in your way to earn an honest living and you will be rewarded. mr. speaker, this administration wants to punish those who have lived the american dream. and during a recession, no one's taxes should be increased. this administration cannot tax and spend america into prosperity. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: madam speaker, there is nothing more americana than the image of happy children at school during the christmas season. that week that norman rockwell picture was stolen. here are 23 of the 26 victims that were murdered that day. we should know their photographs. we should know their names. they were chase kowalski, 7 years of age. james mattioli, 6. jack pinto, 6. carolyn previdi, 6. avielle richman, 6. benjamin, wheeler, 6 years of age. allison wyatt, age 6. catherine hubbard, 6. daniel, 7 years old. grace mcdonald, 7. emilie parker, 6 years. jesse lewis, age 6. ana marquez-greene, 6. noah posner, 6. jessica rekos, 6. josephine gray, age 7. madeleine hsu, 6. olivia engel, age 6. dylan hockley. those were the children. here are the names of the teachers. dawn hochsprung, avenlg 27. anne marie murphy, age 52. lauren rousseau, 30. mary sherlach, 56. rachel davino, age 49. madam speaker, these were real people, real victims, real children and real pictures of newtown, connecticut. th

mr. poe: mr. speaker, we don't have a trillion dollar debt because we have not taxed enough.e have a trillion dollar debt because we spend too much. that was reagan in 1982. he led america out of a recession but history has a way of repeating itself. somehow washington never gets the message. and here we are 30 years later on the brink of another crisis on new year's eve still addicted to spending money. now, we are over $16 trillion in debt. president reagan's words and principles remain true today, and they were true when he said them. the problem is spending money. mr. speaker, the american people know this. why doesn't the federal government and congress understand it? why? because washington is obsessed with spending someone else's money. it's the arrogance of power that congress spends the people's money without regard to how this obsession affects those very people. when american families are in debt, they sacrifice, they cut spending, whether that means taking one less family vacation or fewer presents under the christmas tree. homes across the fruited plain are feeli

mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. one of the most marvelous scientific breakthroughs in the criminal justice system has been d.n.a. evidence. i remember when i was a judge in the courthouse when d.n.a. started coming into be used at the courthouse. prior to that many law enforcement and prosecutors had to rely on blood samples and fingerprints, but once d.n.a. came in and we learned everybody has a unique genetic makeup and it can be connected and traced to perpetrators of crime when they commit a crime, especially in sexual assault cases. and convictions have gone up. the evidence is better. the proof beyond a reasonable doubt is much more available in d.n.a. cases. in 1985, there was a 13-year-old girl named lavenia masters. she lived in dallas, texas. she told her folks good night. she went to her bedroom which should be, mr. speaker, the safest place on earth for children -- went to sleep and during the middle of the night she was woken up by an outlaw putting a knife to her throat and he sexually assaulted her. t

mr. poe: on christmas day most of us will wake up with our families, smell of turkey in the often, homemade apple pie. but on the other side of the world there are men and women who will wake up in the middle of the desert who are representing and protecting america's liberty. those are our great american warriors. in 2005, i went to see our troops in iraq during the christmas season and before i left i asked my staff to get local school kids to make some hand made christmas cards that i could give the troops. it took about 5,000 christmas cards to our troops in iraq, and in kosovo. and every year since then, mr. speaker, kids in southeast texas have been making christmas cards and holiday cards for our troops in afghanistan and iraq and other parts of the world. and i want you to know that school children in southeast texas made 69,000 hand made christmas cards for our troops in afghanistan and iraq and other parts of the world that will be taken to them this christmas. i want to thank all t

mr. higgins. judge poe the -- >> thank you for being here all day.our early conversation this morning, during my lifetime i have been called a lot of things but diplomat is not one of them. i will try to be as candid and non-offensive as they can i can be about this whole situation in benghazi. it seems to me that security was a problem. the reports of security is a problem. i think that we ought to make sure that moving a forward across the world and i've been to a lot of embassies as most members of this congress committee have, that we focus on making sure that the people in charge know what they are doing. not using militias but using memory and. i have total confidence in the marines. they can solve any problem we will let them solve and they are a deterrent mr. ambassador, as you said. the marines, the word brings fear and interpretation of the souls of many people who don't like this throughout the world. it seems to me they would do a better job protecting american interests and hired guns from some countries like the libyan militia. my focus

poe just moments ago. take a listen to this. >> mr.the american people, they actually do get it, at least those people that work and pay taxes, the backbone of america, the workers of america. they say, stop the spending obsession. mr. speaker, the problem is spending. we got here by spending too much, not by taxing too little. we're going off the cliff of our pocket's full of somebody else's money and that is just the way it is. gregg: we'll continue to monitor the remarks on the floor of the house of representatives and we're keeping an eye on what is going on over on the other side of the u.s. senate. not much activity. they're supposed to remeet or convene. it is a little difficult to know which at 11:00 a.m. this morning. so we'll keep you posted on that. heather: meantime a holiday horror story. nine people are killed in a tour bus accident. this happened in oregon. the bus, carrying about 40 people, lost control on an icy road yesterday. first-responders say it is one of the worst crashes they have ever seen. >> 20 years and, th

mr. chaffetz: i would like to thank representative poe for introducing this legislation. the intill bipartisan in its approach, it creates a means for properly commemorating the centennial of the great war and honoring those who fwallantly fought. i urge my colleagues to vote in concurrence with the senate amendment to h.r. 6364 and remind people that no taxpayer dollars will be used to carry out this act. i encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this an yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 6364? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. ms. norton: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present -- the speaker pro tempore: in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative. the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 88 -- 8 of rule 20,