January 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H299 

Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 384) to reform the 

Troubled Assets Relief Program of the 

Secretary of the Treasury and ensure 

accountability under such Program, 

had come to no resolution thereon. 

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INJUSTICE OF THE IMPRISONMENT 

OF IGNACIO RAMOS AND JOSE 

COMPEAN 

(Mr. MCCLINTOCK asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute and to revise and extend 

his remarks.) 

Mr. MCCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise today to express my hope that the 

President will not leave office before 

using his pardon to correct one of the 

great injustices of our time, the imprisonment of Border Patrol officers 

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. 

They are the officers who wounded a 

drug smuggler as he tried to escape. 

The drug smuggler got immunity; 

Ramos and Compean got lengthy prison sentences. 

This injustice sends a chilling message to Border Patrol officers who are 

heroically trying to defend the integrity of our borders against enormous 

odds and with inadequate resources. It 

is an injustice that cannot be allowed 

to stand. 

Thank you. 

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b 1915 

SPECIAL ORDERS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under 

the Speaker’s announced policy of January 6, 2009, and under a previous order 

of the House, the following Members 

will be recognized for 5 minutes each. 

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MORAL CLARITY—ISRAEL VS. 

HAMAS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. POE) is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as 

the fighting in the Middle East rages 

on, many in the media and the elites in 

Europe have asserted with self-righteous indignation that Israel’s response 

to Hamas’ acts of terror is not appropriate, and Israel should unilaterally 

cease all military operations. They cite 

inflated numbers of Palestinian civilians killed in this war and blame Israel 

for the death; never mind the fact that 

the coward of the desert, Hamas, uses 

Palestinian men, women and children 

at mosques, schools and hospitals as 

shields; never mind the fact that before 

bombing a military target in Gaza, 

Israel calls the area and advises the civilians to leave; and never mind the 

fact that since 2000 more than 8,000 

rockets have been fired by Hamas into 

Israel civilian settlements. Mr. Speaker, Israel must defend its people from 

these attacks. 

The truth is, Mr. Speaker, that the 

moral differences between Hamas and 

Israel could not be clearer. Hamas worships death, Israel worships life. Hamas 

supports terrorism, Israel supports liberty. Hamas oppresses women, Israel 

honors women. Hamas destroys, Israel 

builds. Hamas believes in the pursuit of 

misery and Israel believes in the pursuit of happiness. Hamas supports crucifixion, Israel supports mercy. Hamas 

honors murder, Israel honors the sanctity of life. Hamas kills people with 

different religious beliefs, Israel embraces the freedom of religion. Hamas 

incites hatred, Israel believes in tolerance. Hamas is racist, Israel believes in 

the equality of all. Hamas believes in 

chaos, Israel believes in justice. Hamas 

promotes anarchy, and Israel promotes 

peace. The moral canyon that separates Israel from Hamas is best described by Hamas’ own motto, and I 

quote, ‘‘We love death more than the 

Jews love life.’’ 

Hamas not only doesn’t care about 

killing Jews, it doesn’t care about killing Palestinians either. They use living 

Palestinians as human shields. Hamas 

prevents humanitarian aid from Israel 

from reaching Palestinians in Gaza. 

The international community has 

begun calling for an immediate ceasefire, especially the Europeans, asking 

and telling Israel they must unilaterally stop this war. Mr. Speaker, some 

in Europe don’t believe that anything 

is worth fighting for, but some things 

are worth fighting for. The basic 

human right of liberty is worth fighting for whether Europeans believe in it 

or not. 

The last thing Israel ought to agree 

to is another phony peace. Israel did 

that 3 years ago with Lebanon and look 

what happened; the U.N.-mandated disarmament of Hezbollah failed miserably. Hezbollah has rearmed, and in 

fact just last week began firing more 

rockets on Israel. 

There can be no peace in this war as 

long as Hamas is allowed to murder in 

the name of religion. Rather than 

bending to the pressure of world opinion, Israel ought to continue to protect 

her right to exist and the rights of her 

people to live free. The world must demand that Hamas cease all rocket fire 

and smuggling of arms from Egypt into 

Gaza. 

Hamas needs to leave Israel alone. 

Just today, Osama bin Laden issued a 

20-minute recording calling for a jihad 

against Israel. Jihad is another phrase 

for a holy war against Israel for its actions in Gaza. All the eyes of the world, 

especially the moderate Arab states, 

are looking to this conflict to see 

whether Iran and its hired guns, Hamas 

and Hezbollah, are victorious. 

Hezbollah and Hamas, these twin 

tribes of terror, must be stopped. Unless they are, Iran will be encouraged 

to be more aggressive in the region and 

assert its influence over moderate Arab 

states. You see, Iran and the little fellow Ahmadinejad are the real threats 

to peace in the desert sands of the Middle East. 

This is not the time to be rattled by 

the terrorist threats. This is the time 

to stand with the only democracy in 

the Middle East for the right of her 

self-defense, Israel. It’s the right thing 

to do. Israel’s war of self-defense is 

morally just. And Mr. Speaker, justice 

is the one thing we should always find. 

And that’s just the way it is. 

f 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. CUMMINGS) 

is recognized for 5 minutes. 

(Mr. CUMMINGS addressed the 

House. His remarks will appear hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.) 

f 

ENERGY 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. ENGEL) is 

recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today as the only New Yorker on the 

Energy Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and I 

believe so strongly that our dependence 

on foreign oil is one of the greatest 

challenges that our Nation has ever 

faced. It threatens our national security, it threatens our economy, and it 

threatens our environment. Oil prices 

have recently drifted downward, but we 

cannot afford to let that lull us into a 

false sense of complacency. 

I am the founder and co-Chair of the 

Oil and National Security Caucus, 

which is designed to raise awareness of 

the economic and security implications 

of America’s growing dependence on 

foreign oil. The Caucus consists of 

Members of both parties united by the 

common goal of developing and promoting practical bipartisan ways to 

progress toward energy independence. 

America’s mission is clear: We must 

work to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we must grow our economy by 

protecting existing jobs and creating 

new ones, and we must build a clean 

energy future that benefits all citizens. 

I will also seek the development and 

implementation of an oil savings plan. 

The United States consumes 25 percent 

of the world’s oil, yet possesses only 3 

percent of the world’s oil reserves. We 

imported 30 percent of our oil just a 

few decades ago. Today, we import 

more than 60 percent. 

I introduced a plan in 2005 with Congressman KINGSTON as part of our Fuel 

Choices for American Security Act, 

and again in 2007 as part of our Dependence Reduction Through Innovation in 

Vehicles and Energy, which is called 

the DRIVE Act, to require oil savings 

of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2015, 

and increasing annually to 5 million 

barrels per day by 2025. In 2009, this 

year, I will introduce and work again 

to enact similar legislation to help 

break our addiction to foreign oil. I 

will also encourage the production of 

flex fuel vehicles by seeking passage of 

the Open Fuel Standards Act, which I 

am the leading sponsor of. 

The United States transportation 

sector is 97 percent reliant on oil, and 


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