conversation just like earmarks but not now. lindsey: earmarks is something i wanted to ask you about. the speaker, the when you tabled that discussion last year, was something they would revisit in the first quarter of this year. where do you fall down on that discussion of whether earmarks could come back in a limitted form and if you believe they should come back, what's the appropriate avenue reinstating them? mr. walker: personally, and i believe the position that r.s.c. is against earmarks. the reason why, historically, we've seen where there's not only corruption but abuse when it comes to it. i know the other side of the argument, the army corps of engineers who gets to choose a lot where this money now goes, different projects, doesn't always get to the red states so i can understand the frustration. i believe if we'll continue to try to say, hey, here's what we're trying to accomplish with congress, here's the honesty, here's the transparency, i believe that this is not the time for earmarks to return, to be able to have the members

being able to specifically designate where those funds go. >> and you can see that discussion in its entirety on our website c-span.org. go live now to the u.s. house. members will be debating legislation setting up a diabetes care commission among other legislation. live now to the house. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. -- year. at the beginning of this new day, we're grateful as individuals and as a nation for all the blessings we have been given. we ask your blessing upon the members of this people's house as they reconvene for this first session. may they anticipate the opportunities and difficulties that are before them and before

so many americans with steadfast determination to work together towards solutions that will benefit their countrymen. grant that they may be worthy. responsibilities they have been given by their constituents and truly be the people you have called them to be. may your spirit, o god, be in all of our hearts and minds and encourage us to do the works of peace and justice now and always. may all that we do be done for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his pproval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from arkansas, mr. womack. r. womack: 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 pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? mr. womack: mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. i rise ck: mr. speaker, today to pay respects to an admired, respected, and visionary educator and a genuinely terrific person, dr. billy baker of gilbert, arkansas, who passed away on friday, january 6, at the age of 84. my relationship with dr. baker goes back decades. he was a family friend. after spending 17 years as a faculty member and administrator at my alma mater, arkansas tech, in 1974 he became the first employee of

north arkansas college in harrison, served the college for more than 27 years, its founding president, and retired at the age of 68. under his leadership, north ark achieved several firsts. one of the most noteworthy being the 1993 merger of north arc and twin lakes twenl college, the first consolidation of a community college and technical college in arkansas. billy was also instrumental in the creation of both northwest arkansas community college in bentonville, and the a.s.u. mountain home campus. dr. baker's own unofficial motto was to help people grow one at a time. that's exactly what he spent his life doing. he touched the lives of thousands, made them better men and women, and his legacy continues to enrich the lives of people throughout northern and northwest arkansas through the institutioning of higher learning that he envisioned decades ago. rest in peace, dr. baker.

my deepest condolences are with your wife of 63 years, your two sons, daughter, and grandchildren, and the entire north arc family in this time of great loss. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, seek recognition? mr. poe: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, conwu was held up at knife point and brutally assaulted. her attacker, a chinese citizen, who was illegally in america, was captured and sent off to prison. he should have been deported as soon as he finished his sentence, but china would not take back the outlaw. so under american law the attacker could not be held indefinitely in our prison an and was turned loose on american streets. as soon as he was released from prison, he tracked down quang and murdered her. mr. speaker, the law requires that a person who illegally

enters the united states and ordered deported must be repatriated to their native contry. the lack of cooperation from countries that refuse or delay repatriation allows criminals like kwan's killer to remain in america and commit more crimes. my identical bill, the timely repatriation act of 2017, restricts diplomatic visas to countries that deny the repatriation of criminal aliens deported from the united states. countries like china must take back their lawfully deported criminal citizens or pay the price of losing diplomatic visas. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, seek recognition? without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, a good example of fake news appeared in sunday's "new york times." it's a column headlined, as

trump denies climate change, these kids dy. this may be a new high or maybe a new low for climate alarmists and their exaggeration. two facts, first, most severe and perfect tiss tent droughts occurred decades ago not recently. and second, there is little connection between climate change and extreme weather in general, according to numerous studies. climate alarmists tend to ignore scientific evidence and encourage media hype. of course the liberal media are all too willing to go along. climate discussion should be based on good science not politically correct science. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, last month i was grateful that president obama signed the national defense authorization act into law.

legislation that will clearly prevent the closure of the president prison at guantanamo bay. sadly, this has not stopped the president from releasing murderous terrorists which by weakness encourages more attacks against american families that we can anticipate in the future. under president obama, nearly 150 detainees have been released. just last week, the president released four more hardened terrorists, creating a recruiting environment with a legacy of not being serious about the murderous attacks in the future. the president should promote a legacy of peace not more attacks. the administration's own numbers reveal that as many as 1/3 of the terrorists from guantanamo return to the battlefield to kill american families. in march, senior officials from the administration even testified that former prisoners from guantanamo were

responsible for american death s. i appreciate president-elect donald trump does not support releasing prisoners from guantanamo bay and i look forward to working with him to keep it open. knows imprisonment is a determent. may the president by his actions never forget speaven the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. holding: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. holding: mr. speaker, just before christmas the u.n. security council passed a resolution condemning israel. i believe it goes almost without saying that israel is our most trusted ally in the middle east. which is why i find this so troubling, mr. speaker, that the obama administration had the power to veto the resolution and support one of our only allies in the region but president obama less than a month from leaving office dictated the united states would sit on the sideline. mr. speaker, i am committed to

preserving our alliance with israel and ensuring a lasting peace is found in the region. a position that has been expressed multiple times on the floor of this house by my colleagues and i believe we can't afford to sit on the sidelines any more. mr. speaker, the united states supports israel. the obama administration is leaving behind a failed foreign policy, but our alliance with israel will endure. former senator gentlemen-e jess yes helms believed the united nations required fundamental reform to address these kinds of problems. i believe this latest action by the security council underscores that need. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, charity declares the house in recess until approximately 4:30 p.m. today.

>> the u.s. house is in recess. members will be out until 4:30 this afternoon. we'll have live coverage of the house when they return. members will debate diabetes care commission and another bill dealing with weather research programs. again, we'll have live coverage of the house when they return for legislative business at 4:30 eastern. a discussion now on the confirmation hearing for

senator jeff sessions to be u.s. attorney general. his confirmation hearing gets under way tomorrow. we'll have live coverage on c-span3. starting at 9:30 eastern. announcer: "washington journal" continues. first of our two roundtables today on the nomination of jeff sessions for attorney general, we are joined in studio by susan crabtree, senior congressional reporter for "the washington examiner," and steve flowers. i want to begin with you. in your columns since jeff sessions was nominated, you're confident he will be nominated for the post of attorney general. why are you so confident? guest: generally speaking, i think that confirmations for cabinet members are not as stringent as maybe supreme court judges or federal judges. alsog said that, he has been on thna