mr. poe: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and stice for all. the speaker: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to formally notify you of my intent to resign as c.a.o. effective at the close of business on january 5, 2014. thank you for the opportunity to serve you and the u.s. house of representatives. over the course of my 28 years as a staff member, i have developed a deep respect and reference for the institution and in particular, the members and staff whose dedication and commitment to service make it an exciting and interactive community. additionally, i want to thank ed cassidy of your staff for his leadership, direction and support as director of house operations. he has done a premmedous job in fostering collaboration and coordination within and among the institutional entities t

mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: madam speaker, the house is not ined offer. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman deserves to be heard. please take your conversations off the floor. the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: madam speaker, she was little bitty tiny things, weighed 4 pounds. four days after christmas she was born in dallas, texas. two days later on now year's eve, roslyn marine schumaker came home with with her adoptive parents. roz, as she's already nicknamed, is a good sleeper. kelly, my daughter, and her husband, are good parents. during christmas, christians honor the most important child ever born. but in our family this past christmas season, we know that unto us a special child was also born. her name is roz. my hope an prayer for roz is that sh

mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. before i get into my official remarks this afternoon, i too want to thank trudi terry for her service to the house. a lot of folks don't know, especially folks throughout america, that as chief clerk of debate, and all the clerks, they get here in the morning before we ever get here. and they don't go home until long after congress is over. because they have to make sure that everything we say is appropriately recorded in the congressional record. and that is prepared by the clerks during the night before the sun rises the next day. it is a tremendous job and our clerks do a tremendous job. trudi, when you told me you were leaving yesterday i told you it can't be. just say it isn't so. we depend on you. now, you sit right in the middle of the house. right between the republicans, right between the democrats, right down the center of the aisle. making sure that you take care of all of us. and i personally appreciate what you've done for me over the last nine years, since i have been in

mr. ted poe, chairman ted poe, and i e-- and also mr. deutch far very well reasoned argument that he just laid out and ileana, i think you laid out a come peeling -- compelling case as well. i think all of russ a little stunned. i think we're stunned that not only does iran continue to enrich uranium but they are very, very foe vokal about the fact that they're going to continue to research and development on faster and faster spin offering centrifuges. for them to be making this pronouncement in the middle of this interim agreement on how they're reaching this capability, to develop and spin these centrifuges at supersonic speeds, setting new records, implies a certain intent on undetectable nuclear breakout capability. i think this is what members worry about. we worry that as you try to work out an agreement here and we talk thbt emue tone yum reactor, heavy water reactor facility at iraq, the point that they're going to continue performing work at that site. i think the large quantities of existing stockpiles, when they make the comm

very good student. >> this is the grads from d.a.d.s., are byron poe. >> thank you, mr.. >> once i get out, i know i'm going to make it better. this probably is my last -- i won't even say probably. i know this is my last run at criminal activity, drug use. i'm going to do everything there is possible for me to stay out of here. >> congratulations to the march graduates. [ applause ] >> i'm kind of elated. i was kind of emotional. i started to cry. i didn't think this would bring me to things like this. but graduating here out this program allows me to believe that there's goals that i can achieve once i leave. >> congratulations, everybody. congratulations. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> thanks, jen. >> all right. >> one inmate previously enrolled in the jail's education program is not graduating today. alexandria mcbride was dismissed from her m.o.m.s. class for fighting with another inmate. >> she flew to the ground, and i went crazy on her. so she came into my room and that's when she told me she despises me and she wants to punch me in my face. then the other

. >> mr. poe has been a student in the class now for about two months. he does very well, you know?in, does his work and participates, as you can see, with practical operations. he likes to barber. he's been in the salon cutting hair, so he's doing well. >> i can get into the hair-cutting business. i can do a lot of females' hair this way. get a lot of clientele. >> by the looks of it you ain't going to have no clients. >> or i might just break into the hair-cutting business. >> good. okay. that looks good. all right. >> ooh. did you hear that? >> at first i was kind of leery of this class, but after i've been in here, it's hair cutting. >> why are you leery? >> because it's -- because you don'tny men don't cut women's hair, but it's fun. >> pop down your next subsection. >> while poe says he hopes the jail's education program will help him stay out of trouble the next time he's released -- >> let me see what you got. >> check it out. >> look. >> -- jacob cowin has turned to religion. >> ephesians, huh? >> i wrote that last night. why don't you read it to me. this time he's serving

mr. poe: mr. speaker, it's a new year. as the clock struck midnight, americans throughout the fruited plains celebrated the and the start of a new year. january 1, out with the old and in with the new. light bulb, so saith uncle sam. that's right. turn out the lights, the party's over for the incandescent light bulb. i went to h.e.b. in texas and only curly florescent light bulbs were there. they banned the 150 and 40 incandescent light bulb. edson's light bulb has gone from the endangered species list to near extinction. some incandescent light bulbs will be allowed but only if they meet new government standards. what was once the symbol of the american innovation is now banned by the all-mighty government. isn't that ironic? and why? because it's not energy efficient, so sayeth the government. and they don't want americans to have a choice of what light bulbs to purchase because the government knows best. the new florescent curly light bulbs contain mercury and also more expensive. mr. speaker, i thought mercury was bad

mr. ted poe, and also mr. the well-laid out argument. and i think you laid out a compelling case as well. i think all of us are a little stunned. i think we're stunned that not only does iran continue to enrich uranium, but they're very, very vocal about the fact that they're going to continue the research and development on faster and faster spinning of centrifuges. and for them to be making this pronouncement, in the middle of the interim agreement, on how they're reaching this capability to develop and spin these centrifuges at super sonic speeds setting new records implies a certain intent on undetectable nuclear breakout capability. i think this is what members worry about. we worry that as you try to workout an agreement here. you talk about the plutonium reactor, the heavy water reactor facility at iraq, they make the point they're going to continue performing work at that sight. i think that the large quantity of existing stockpile. when they make the comment they're going to draw down on the stockpile, all of this sends a messag

mr. poe: mr. speaker, a large number of spanish-speaking americans live in my congressional district and brought to my attention the new two-month-late obamaenrollment web site and here it is right here on the web site. in english that translates the caution of health.gov. sounds like a warning. only the government could be so incompetent to get the title of the web site wrong. this site is riddled with embarrassing computerized english-to-spanish. some things are in spanish and some things are in english. this is insulating to americans who speak only spanish. the web site does tell the truth. people should be cautious about government health care. the name of the web site should be changed to cautionobamacare. it is hard enough to sign up if the government decides to have a spanish-speaking web site, you would think that the government would have a spanish web site inaccurate spanish. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from f

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the tragedy of human sex trafficking cannot be fully realized until one sees the pain of hopelessness in the victims' eyes. on a recent trip to honduras, i visited two shelters for sex trafficking victims. some of these victims were as young as 12 years of age. they had been raped, drugged, abused, and exploited. these shelters are helping them to regain their lives, their dignity, and yes, hope. don't be fooled into thinking that this vile crime of sex trafficking only happens somewhere else. it happens in the united states as well. the average age of girls trafficked in the united states is between 12 and 14 years of age. like honduras, our country lacks shelters for these girls. there are about 5,000 shelters for animals throughout the country, according to the spca. but there are only 226 beds available for domestic minor sex trafficking victims, according to shared hope. this has got to change, mr. speaker. it's time for us to rescue the child victims of sex slavery and

mr. poe: so in conjunction with the polari sufment project, clear channel is donating billboard space around phoenix to inform the people of arizona about the despicable crime of human trafficking. human trafficking increases around sporting events such as the super bowl. new jersey's getting ready for this year's super bowl by doing all they can to fight human trafficking, but arizona's working to bring awareness a year before their super bowl. human slavery happens right here in america. until we acknowledge the fact that young girls are being sold on the street, this despicable crime will continue. i commend clear channel and activist organizations like cindy mclean and the polaris project against the fight for human trafficking. we need to rescue the victims and put the slave traders behind bars. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: request permission to address the house for one

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the state of the union is tonight. but the president has already said that he would ignore congress if he doesn't have his way. he's going to rule by pen and phone. the pen to write down laws and executive orders, bypassing congress. the phone to call lower level operatives, i suppose, like the e.p.a., the i.r.s., n.s.a., and impose new rules and thus again bypassing congress. mr. speaker, nowhere in the constitution is the phrase executive order. it's not in this constitution. this is not an imperial kingdom where the ruler makes his own rules as he goes along. we all learned in ninth grade civics that congress makes the law and the president can approve it or disapprove it. it's in the constitution. rather than rule by pen and phone, the president should be bound by the law and ruled by the constitution and by his oath. but the constitution seems to be a mere suggestion to this administration. madam speaker, this is america, it's not burger king. the president cannot always have it his way. and that's just the way it

mr. poe: mr. speaker, this week i got a call from a concerned father in crosby, texas. his daughter's a single working mom with three young children, ages 3 through 13. she recently received bad news from her health insurance provider. she and her children would be dropped from their current plan. the new plan required under obamacare had a 40% more expensive freedom yum. as a result, she and her children had to move out of their home and in with her father and mother. she no longer can afford to make it on her own. the father said, quote, texans are suffering. it hurts us. she got a 40% increase in her premium payments while she's already struggling to make ends meet. her policy was great before, but now it's gone. mr. speaker, this single working mom in texas is being punished under obamacare. the president sold obamacare to the american people on the false promise that if they like their plan they could keep it. now this single mother and her children and others are learning the hard way that this was just one more washington lie. that's just the way it is. i yield b

mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the united states is gearing up for their next super bowl. unfortunately so are human sex traffickers. super bowl sunday is not just a sporting event of the year, but it has become america's traveling human trafficking magnet. exporters room the streets looking for prey. last year while the two teams battled it out on the field, a young trafficing girl preyed for her life while being sold for sex. these are women and children who have been taken as sex slaves, become sought after entertainment on super bowl weekend. new jersey's efforts toward eliminatinging this dastardly deed are to be commended. hopefully they are successful in curving modern day slavery at the super bowl. but this crime ought not to be. not at a major sporting event, not in our neighborhoods. that's why caroline maloney and i h

mr. poe: mr. speaker, as the sun rises each morning in africa, angelina gathers water for her family but the water well is broken most every day so she and other women like her are forced to go 10 miles to fetch watter from a polluted river, water that's infected with waste, parasites and other insents. going to the smelly river is physically hard but it's also emotionally hard because angelina's 2-year-old daughter died from the bug-infested water. but angelina goes to the river because she has no other option. every 21 seconds a child dies from water related diseases. by the time i finish talking, three children will die. this ought not to be. representative blumenauer and i introduced a water for the world act, that will make u.s. water aid more efficient and more coordinated. we have it in our power to fix this tragedy so mothers in africa don't lose their daughters to polluted drinking water, and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentl