U.S. Congressman Ted Poe

 

Congressman Poe's passionate, commonsense, innovative articles and speeches on Border Security and Illegal Immigration are consistently popular with elected officials at all levels of government who are on the front lines of these important issues. He is in his second term as the United States Representative for Southeast Texas’ 2nd Congressional District. Congressman Poe has a distinguished career of public service to the Lone Star state.

Congressman Poe first made a name for himself in Texas as a straight-talking, no-nonsense chief felony prosecutor. As an assistant district attorney for eight years, Poe tried hundreds of cases, even those seeking the death penalty, and never lost a jury trial. When Poe became a judge in 1981 he continued his dedication to justice and became one of the youngest judges in the State of Texas, serving as a Harris County felony court judge for 22 years.

Elected six times to the bench in Houston, Texas, Judge Poe garnered national media attention for his “Poetic Justice” in sentencing criminals. Among his innovative punishments Poe ordered thieves to carry signs in front of stores from which they stole; required men who abused their wives to publicly apologize on the steps of Houston’s City Hall; commanded sex offenders to place warning signs on their home after serving jail time; and directed murderers to securely place a photo of their victims on the wall of their prison cells creating a daily reminder of their crime.

In 1999, Judge Poe helped craft pioneering state legislation allowing Texas judges to order public notice of a crime in probation cases. His public punishment approach has been showcased through media venues such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline, National Geographic, and Australian, German, French, Bulgarian, Japanese, and British newscasts. Congressman Poe appears regularly on FOX News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, and numerous local broadcasts as a political and legal analyst.

Today, Congressman Poe takes his passionate, commonsense, innovative approach to problems to Washington, D.C.

Congressman Poe has obtained significant appointments to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (including the terrorism subcommittee) and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure where he is one of only two Texans appointed to this important committee.

In February 2005, Congressman Poe was selected as one of only two members of Congress to travel to Iraq to observe the historic Iraqi elections. Congressman Poe was proud to visit polling locations, speak with Iraqi voters and visit with troops from Texas and around the United States.

While in Washington, Congressman Poe founded and co-chairs the Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus to represent and advocate before the United States Congress and the Administration on behalf of victims. The bipartisan Congressional Victim’s Rights Caucus has helped pass victims’ legislation including the Adam Walsh Child Safety Act which tracks child predators across state lines once they leave prison.

Congressman Poe has a sustained passion for protecting abused, assaulted, and neglected children. He currently serves on the Board of the National Children’s Alliance in Washington, D.C. and the Children’s Assessment Center of Houston.

A prominent speaker, Congressman Poe has delivered over 1,000 training sessions and keynote addresses to law enforcement entities as well as attorneys, judges and private citizens’ organizations in the areas of crime, leadership practices, gang investigations, terrorism, probation and parole, narcotics, school safety, punishment techniques, victims’ rights and court docket management. In addition to training, Judge Poe taught criminal justice courses at the University of Houston, conducted training at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and taught at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Congressman Ted Poe earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Abilene Christian University, where he served as class president. He went on to receive his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center where he was a member of the Law School Honor Society. A former member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s C-130 Unit at Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base, Congressman Poe’s hobbies include photography and the study of Texas history.