ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. by direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 125 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 11 house resolution 125, resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of the bill h.r. 5. to support state and local accountability for public education, protect state and local authority, inform parents of performance of their children's schools and for other purposes. no further general debate shall be in order. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and the work force, now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 114-8, modified by the amendm

ms. foxx: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 78 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 7 house resolution 78 resolved that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 527, to amend chapter 6 of title 5, united states code, commonly known as the regulatory flexibility act, to ensure complete analysis of potential impacts on small entities of rules, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour, with 40 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the

ms. foxx: pursuant to clause 1, rule 1 i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. ms. foxx: mr. speaker. the speaker: the gentlelady. ms. foxx: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not pnt. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson. mr. johnson: please join me. 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 justice for all. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, is recognized for one minute. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker,

the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx. ms. foxx: please join in the pledge to our wonderful flag. 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 justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. secretary. the secretary: i'm directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. this month marks 25 years since john hood and mark rotterman f

the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from north carolina ms. foxx, for five minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to recognize a pioneering school in wilkes bear, north carolina. established in 2009, wilkes early college high school is a partnership between wilkes county schools and wilkes community college. the school provides a small learning community of students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree. it is a five-year school which enrolls approximately 60 ninth graders each year and located on the campus of wilkes community college where students are enrolled in both honors level, high school classes, and college courses. the mission of wilkes early college high school is to provide a personalized program of study that will empower students to be lifelong community oriented learners who possess the technical and leadership skills needed for personal and professional success in a global community. the $40 annual fee which covers textbooks and enrollment, is an extremely affordable way to help students reach their ed

ms. foxx four minutes. the chair: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized for four minutes. ms. foxx: i thank the chairman of the committee and i thank the chair for the recognition. mr. chairman, the current k-12 education system is failing our students and state and local attempts to make it better have been hampered by an enormous federal footprint. parents and education leaders have lost much of their decision making authority to washington bureaucrats and the secretary of education has bullied states into adopting the obama administration's pet projects. unsurprisingly, student achievement levels remain worrisome. just 36% of eighth grade students read at grade level and only 35% are proficient in math. for far too long, our schools have been governed by a top-down approach that stymies state and local efforts to meet the unique needs of their student populations. we can't continue to make the same mistakes and expect better results. americans -- america's students deserve change

ms. foxx four minutes. the chair: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized for four minutes. ms. foxx: i thank the chairman of the committee and i thank the chair for the recognition. mr. chairman, the current k-12 education system is failing our students and state and local attempts to make it better have been hampered by an enormous federal footprint. parents and education leaders have lost much of their decision making authority to washington bureaucrats and the secretary of education has bullied states into adopting the obama administration's pet projects. unsurprisingly, student achievement levels remain worrisome. just 36% of eighth grade students read at grade level and only 35% are proficient in math. for far too long, our schools have been governed by a top-down approach that stymies state and local efforts to meet the unique needs of their student populations. we can't continue to make the same mistakes and expect better results. americans -- america's students deserve change

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to recognize stacey eggers jr. of boone, north carolina. on march 20, stationy will be 91 years old but he -- stacey will be the 1 years old but he hasn't let age slow him down one bit. he still goes daily to his office on west king street where he has been continually practicing law since 1950. back then he was one of only four attorneys in the county. stacey is one of the last attorneys in the state of north carolina who did not attend law school. he was admitted by the north carolina state bar to practice law on april 19, 1950, and eventually his law practice became a family affair. he formed the law firm eggers and eggers with his son stacey eggers iii in 1974, and later formed eggers eggers, and eggers when his daughter rebecca joined the practice. his grand son stacey eggers iv, who is known as four, joined the firm in 2001. his granddaughter in-law, kimberly eggers, joined the firm in 2010. and another grandson, austin eggers, joined the firm in 2011. i think it bears repeating that stacey still goes to work

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. on february 7 the state of north carolina lost a legend both on and off the court when former university of north carolina basketball coach dean smith passed away. during his 36-year tenure as head coach, smith led the tar heels to 879 wins and 13 a.c.c. tournament championships. his teams reached the final four 11 times and won two national titles. he also coached the u.s. men's basketball team to an olympic gold medal in 1976. but smith was more than just a college basketball icon. he was a deeply religious man who placed a strong emphasis on education. more than 96% of his players received their degrees. an unwavering supporter of civil rights, he recruited the first black college athlete at u.n.c. while he never sought accolades for his actions, he received the presidential medal of freedom, which is the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2013. coach smith was a remarkable man, and north carolina was lucky to call him one of our own. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gen

ms. foxx: thank you mr. speaker. the first month of the 114th congress has been a busy one as house republicans have gotten right to work tackling the difficult issues facing the nation. we started off the new year by passing two pieces of bipartisan legislation designed to minimize the consequences caused by obamacare. we also approved three bills that will help us on our way to energy independence and increase access to affordable north american oil. the house acted swiftly to defund the president's executive actions on illegal aliens in their entirety, and we also passed legislation that would ensure veterans who may be struggling have access to the mental health care services and support they need. while house republicans have accomplished a great deal in a relatively short time there's still much work to do. we are focused on growing our economy from the ground up not from the top down. to help people back to work -- get people back to work and restore opportunity for everyone. i yield back, mr. speaker. the spe