[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         BE THE VOICE OF MORAL GRANDEUR AND SPIRITUAL AUDACITY

  (Ms. BALINT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Abraham Heschel once sent a telegram 
to John F. Kennedy. Referring to racism in this country, he said: ``The 
hour calls for moral grandeur and spiritual audacity.''
  Now, 62 years later, we see the excessive brutality of ICE agents. 
Peaceful protesters are tear-gassed in the face. A pastor was shot in 
the head with a pepper ball. We have children being zip-tied, car 
windows smashed, people tackled and dragged, and guns pointed at 
unarmed bystanders. We have people targeted for the color of their skin 
or the accents that they speak in. ICE agents are demanding entrance to 
homes without warrants, and last week, an American citizen was gunned 
down.
  Americans know this is wrong, and they are horrified. People of 
conscience across this country must come together and be that voice of 
moral grandeur and spiritual audacity once again. We have to find our 
courage and speak out. There is no other way.

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