[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 166 (Monday, October 21, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8293-H8295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PAYING TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York 
(Ms. Clarke) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and my privilege 
to continue the CBC's Special Order hour, and we are going to call this 
portion CBC and friends.
  It is my honor now to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), 
one who has served alongside the Honorable Elijah E. Cummings 
throughout his tenure here and I know would like to bring forth his 
very special remarks and reflections at this time.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise, yes, to mourn his death, but 
I also rise to celebrate his life, because it was a life worthy of 
great celebration.
  I rise understanding that, yes, he was brilliant. He was a Phi Beta 
Kappa with some 13 doctoral degrees, but he did not allow his 
brilliance to outshine his goodness.
  His goodness was such that he was one who cared for the least, the 
last, and the lost. He was there for those whom we consider the least 
among us, those who were not born into plenty but, rather, into 
poverty.

  He was there for those who were the last, the last hired and the 
first fired. He fought for jobs for them.
  He was there for those who are lost, lost in poverty in the richest 
country in the world, and he fought to elevate their lives; those lost 
in chemical abuse, he was there to help them acquire healthcare.
  He was truly a person who made a difference in the lives of people 
whom he never had the opportunity to meet and greet.
  So I mourn his passing, but I celebrate his living.
  And while I am sure there are many who will say that he left too 
soon, I can only say this: We had him for 68 years, and I am grateful 
for that 68 years.
  God bless you, dear brother. You were a wise warrior and a seeker of 
peace. And while you may not be with us physically, your spirit will 
endure forever.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Houston for sharing those very inspiring, uplifting comments about our 
dear, beloved colleague at this time.
  It is important for us, as we go through the stages of mourning, to 
recognize, as he has stated, rightly stated, that we were fortunate to 
have Elijah Cummings with us for 68 years--his family, his friends, 
even longer--and during the 68 years, we were fortunate to have him as 
part of our family here in the Congressional Black Caucus and in the 
Halls of Congress.
  In that time, he was able to accomplish so much through his God-given 
talents and abilities that he has become well-known not only here in 
the United States, but around the world.
  I am hearing from members of the Caribbean community who have read 
about and heard about the passing of Elijah Cummings, all of whom have 
reached out to share with me their comments and their condolences 
because they understand what Elijah has meant not only to the United 
States House of Representatives, United States Congress, but, indeed, 
because he was a world-class leader.
  Mr. Speaker, I have some friends and colleagues of the honorable 
chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee who would like to say a 
few words, if you will, about our great colleague.
  It is my honor, at this time, to yield to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), my classmate and colleague, a member of the 
Oversight and Reform Committee and the Judiciary Committee, to give his 
remarks.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I was just walking back to my office and I 
saw on the video this memorial service, this celebration of life, and I 
wanted to come listen. It has been inspiring for me, so many 
appropriate remarks made about this great man.
  I feel privileged just to stand here at the podium where he spoke and 
next to his photograph just as I felt privileged to know him and become 
a friend, and where we spoke over here when he was in the wheelchair 
and in the Speaker's lobby before votes and during votes.
  When I was home this weekend, more people came up to me in Memphis, 
and people on social media, and expressed their condolences, their 
appreciation of his life and their knowledge that the Congress had lost 
a person who was irreplaceable.
  Elijah Cummings was one of the great people that I have had the 
opportunity to interact with in my life, in Congress, and in other 
places.
  Truly, a giant has fallen. He had grace. He had knowledge. He had 
judgment. He had character.
  It has been spoken, and I remember seeing him on television walking 
in Baltimore at some risk to himself, during the riots, to help bring 
calm to Baltimore, leadership where he put his community first and his 
safety second.
  He talked about: We are better than this. Well, we are better than 
this, and, hopefully, one day, we will be as good as him.
  He knew that we were only here for a minute and you should make that 
time worthwhile, and he made it worthwhile.
  Friday, a week ago, the last Friday that Elijah was in our caucus, we 
had a caucus conference call, and the discussion toward the end was 
about the Congress' issuance of subpoenas and the attempt to get them 
enforced through the courts.
  I believe Elijah was the last person to speak on the call, and when 
he spoke, it was like hearing the voice of God. He said that these 
cases will go through the courts, and they will be appealed, and they 
will eventually be appealed to

[[Page H8294]]

the Supreme Court, and, at that point, our democracy will be in the 
balance.
  He was right, and those were his last words to the caucus.
  He cared about democracy. He cared about this Congress. He cared 
about the Constitution.
  And even when President Trump degraded his city, he was gracious in 
his response and never was in any way defensive or attacking the 
President.
  Elijah Cummings would stop you and give you a word of encouragement 
to keep going. He was one of the great people to serve in the Congress. 
I am just blessed to have my life interface with his. I will miss him 
greatly.
  I also extend my condolences to his family, and I hope I get the 
chance to serve along with his wife.

                              {time}  2115

  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Tennessee for sharing his insight and his own personal experiences with 
our dear colleague, Elijah Cummings, who touched so many lives, Members 
here in Congress, the members of their family, our own constituents.
  Like Mr. Cohen, so many people in my district were reaching out and 
expressing their condolences and sharing their stories with me this 
past week. I attended a church service where, again, people talked 
about Elijah Cummings. His influence has gone far and wide, and I think 
that the values that he held about our democracy are reverberating, and 
that should give us all great heart to move forward and press forward 
as we fight the battle to preserve our democracy and lift up the 
Constitution and rule of law.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch), 
another colleague and also another classmate of mine, who has joined us 
and would like to share his sentiments, his insights into the life of 
Elijah Cummings and his interactions with our dear colleague.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my classmate for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been so wonderful to be sitting here listening to 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus talk about their work, their 
friendship, their respect for a giant who walked among us, and of 
course, that is Elijah Cummings.
  The Congressional Black Caucus is regarded by many, myself included, 
as the conscience of this Congress. And there was no better 
representative of that conscience than Elijah Cummings, who served for 
a couple of years as the chair of the Black Caucus. All of us who 
served with Elijah are better for it and have fond memories and great 
appreciation for our friendship and admiration for him.
  I was quite lucky because I have served with Elijah on the Oversight 
and Reform Committee for 13 years. So in those committees, along with 
you my friend, Representative Clarke, we really got to see Elijah face 
a lot of very tough situations.
  I am going to make it a little bit personal here about some of my 
vivid experiences I have had with Elijah. Elijah and I worked very hard 
on the drug bill that is now going to be named in his honor to provide 
the government with the ability to negotiate lower prices so that the 
people he represents, and we all represent, can get the drugs they 
need.
  Shortly after President Trump was elected, I think it was April of 
2017, the President invited Elijah to the White House to talk about 
prescription drugs. Since I had been working with Elijah on this for 
years, Elijah invited me. I kind of crashed the party.
  Number one, how many of our colleagues would invite a junior Member 
to a White House meeting just because the two of us had been working on 
the issue together? I would like to say all of us would. Elijah did.
  We went to the White House, and we talked a lot with the President 
about the prescription drug negotiation bill. But in the course of the 
conversation, the President expressed dismay about where Elijah lived. 
This was before the President was saying the horrible things about that 
community with rats and rodents and all the other things. He was 
genuinely dismayed that a person in Congress could live in a community 
that the President just didn't think that he could ever live.
  And I remember Elijah was dismayed that anybody, including the 
President of the United States, didn't understand how wonderful the 
people were in that community, how dignified they were, how they faced 
adversity every single day, how they helped one another get up when 
somebody fell down. Elijah was astonished. He lived in the best place 
in the world. That was what Elijah conveyed to the President. And 
Elijah conveyed that he represented the best people in the world. That 
was Elijah Cummings.
  I remember the topic was prescription drugs, and Elijah was quite 
disciplined. You know, the topic is the topic, we will get to the 
business at hand. But the question of voter fraud came up, and in the 
way that only Elijah can do, where he is not intimidated but he is not 
showing off--and it is a fine balance--he just said in his direct way, 
we don't have a problem with voter fraud. We have a problem with voter 
suppression.
  And to be in the presence of this man in the Oval Office where there 
was no artifice to Elijah's presence, there was no sense from Elijah of 
disrespect for the office, certainly, even though he disagreed with the 
President on so many things, but it was no different for Elijah than if 
he was in a local diner in Baltimore talking to the people he 
represented; he was direct, to the point, and empathetic to the 
concerns of the people that he represented.
  So it was just a wonderful opportunity for me to see a great man in 
action. It is how he lived. It wasn't like he had to think about it. It 
wasn't like he had to calculate anything. He was present in that 
moment. He was present in that moment as he was present every moment of 
the day. It was there for the people he represented. He conveyed the 
immense appreciation and respect for the dignity of the people he 
represented and the humility that he felt that he had been given this 
opportunity to be their Member of Congress, a special man.
  The memory of Elijah for all of us will sustain us through difficult 
times, and may his example be the one we aspire to follow.
  I thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for this 
wonderful tribute to a wonderful leader from the ranks of the 
Congressional Black Caucus.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Vermont for sharing his insight as a member of the committee led by the 
Honorable Elijah E. Cummings.
  As we wind down here this evening, there are a couple of things that 
have been a running theme among our colleagues this evening, and it is 
sort of the quiet thunder, the strength, the dignity, the integrity of 
the Honorable Elijah E. Cummings. And I thought about the fact that 
still waters run deep. He wasn't a boisterous person, a showboater, but 
he knew how to command the moral authority that moves a Nation. Whether 
it was voting rights or civil rights, whether it was the children of 
Flint or the children of the border, whether it was preserving this 
democracy and making sure that the rule of law stands above all else in 
the Constitution of the United States, we could turn to our North Star, 
Elijah E. Cummings to be a champion, to be a voice, to be the compass 
that led this Congress into the next level of integrity that we need to 
move this Nation forward.

  And so, we are honored this evening that so many colleagues have 
taken the time to be here in tribute to the Honorable Elijah E. 
Cummings. We again want to, on behalf of the members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus and colleagues of the wider body, express 
our heartfelt condolences to Maya Rockeymoore, the family, the 
constituents of Maryland's Seventh District, as well as the very 
dedicated staff of the Honorable Elijah E. Cummings.
  Congressman Cummings will never be forgotten. As I stated in my 
comments, we are legacy keepers, and so everything that we have been 
taught and learned from Elijah will be applied in the days ahead as he 
would have us do.


                             General Leave

  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?

[[Page H8295]]

  There was no objection.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a great 
leader, legislator and servant of the people. A man of principle and 
unyielding resolve to be the voice of the people; Congressman Elijah 
Eugene Cummings.
  A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Congressman Cummings maintained an 
unbreakable bond to the community that raised him, fighting for the 
people he loved every day.
  From his days as Speaker pro tempore of the Maryland House of 
Delegates, to becoming Chairman of the powerful House Committee on 
Oversight and Reform of the U.S. Congress, Congressman Cummings 
defended the less fortunate by ensuring federal government programs 
were meeting the needs of the people of his district and this country. 
He became a powerful voice for equality and opportunity, a tireless 
advocate for affordable healthcare, quality education, civil rights, 
and criminal justice reform.
  Congressman Cummings committed himself to civil rights advocacy and 
social justice. He was known as the gentleman who ``will not yield'' 
when it comes to educating our children, protecting communities of 
color, and migrant families. As his colleague, it was no surprise to 
see him take to the streets to extinguish the flames of outrage sparked 
by racism and excessive violence by law enforcement in his hometown. He 
will forever be remembered as a calming spirit in a time of civil 
unrest in the city of Baltimore.
  Congressman Cummings' lifetime of public service was defined by 
compassion, integrity, and a commitment to empowering the people he was 
sworn to represent. His presence will be sorely missed. His legacy of 
leadership will continue to be an inspiration to us all. It was an 
honor to know him, and call him friend.
  Elijah was a man of great and unwavering faith. I can imagine, as he 
was making his transition early last Thursday morning, he sang the 
words of the old hymn, ``Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face; 
There to sing forever of His saving grace; On the streets of glory let 
me lift my voice; Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.''
  Farewell my friend. Another soldier gone home.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, last week, we lost the earthly man Elijah 
Cummings. Most of the country and many around the world knew him as a 
member of Congress from the city of Baltimore. He was a fierce fighter 
for the forgotten, a sworn opponent of hunger, poverty, abuse and 
addiction and a relentless advocate for civil rights. Chairman Cummings 
was a driven man, a person who pushed for what was right because he 
believed in the supreme responsibility of elected officials to advocate 
for those we represent.
  I have the honor of being a member of the Committee he chaired for 5 
years. Congressman Cummings was a mentor to me. I and those who had a 
chance to interact with him knew him as more than a Member of Congress. 
More importantly, he was a man of God. He lived and worked in Congress 
on Christian values.
  He was a man of great wisdom and, although he needed little 
protection, I viewed my role on the Committee as not only being the 
consummate prosecutor and counselor but as a frontline and protector to 
this gentleman. With a booming voice and speaking cadence that hinted 
of the pulpit--his parents were preachers--Chairman Cummings was a 
compelling figure on Capitol Hill for more than two decades, repeatedly 
re-elected by voters in Maryland's Seventh Congressional District, 
which covers much of Baltimore, including a section of the city with 
more than its share of social problems. He campaigned tirelessly for 
stricter gun control laws and was a consummate voice for those addicted 
to drugs. He was at times gruff, but always respected. But, it was as 
Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform--the panel 
charged with maintaining integrity in government--that Chairman 
Cummings may have left his most legacy.
  When it came to the notion of democracy, Chairman Cummings, in his 
speeches--particularly those he gave in the past few years--insistently 
invoked it, and not in the inert way that elected officials tend to. He 
spoke of democracy as something vital and fragile and valuable--an 
inheritance that had to be safeguarded for future generations. When he 
spoke of HR-1, the exhaustive election-protection bill that the 
Democrats introduced in January as their first piece of legislation of 
this Congress, he mentioned his ninety-two-year-old mother, who had 
died a year earlier. She was a former sharecropper, who implored him, 
``Do not let them take our votes away from us.'' He viewed his 
Chairmanship of the House Oversight and Reform Committee as part of the 
battle to protect voting rights. What remains clear is the void that 
Chairman Cummings's absence leaves in his district and his country. 
This would have been the case at nearly any point in his quarter 
century in Congress. But it's even more acute in this one. In a fiery 
bit of oration delivered at the introduction of HR-1, he pledged to 
``fight to the death'' in defense of voting and, thereby, democracy. It 
was a promise that he made good on.
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to memorialize the 
life of an honorable statesman and dear friend, Congressman Elijah 
Cummings.
  Congressman Cummings graduated from Baltimore City College High 
School before attending Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor's 
degree in Political Science. At Howard, he served as the president of 
the student government and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest 
academic honor society in the United States. He continued his studies 
at the University of Maryland School of Law and went on to be admitted 
to the Maryland Bar Association.
  Congressman Cummings was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates 
in 1982, where he served for 16 years. As a Member of the House of 
Delegates, he was elected as the first African American Speaker Pro 
Tempore in the state's history and was selected as Chairman of the 
Legislative Black Caucus. Following the conclusion of his service in 
the state legislature, Congressman Cummings was entrusted to represent 
the constituents of the 7th District of Maryland in the United States 
House of Representatives, where he had served dutifully since.
  During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Congressman 
Cummings championed issues including civil rights, access to affordable 
healthcare, and congressional oversight, to name a few. He has served 
as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 108th Congress and 
Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. At the 
time of his passing, he was Chairman of the House Committee on 
Oversight and Reform and a senior Member of the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Congressman Cummings was a faithful member of the Baltimore community 
above everything else. He served on many local boards, including the 
U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the University of Maryland Board 
of Advisors, and the SEED School of Maryland Board of Directors. In 
addition, he was an Honorary Board Member of KIPP Baltimore Schools and 
the Baltimore School for the Arts.
  Mr. Speaker, I join with Members of Congress in extending our 
sympathies to Congressman Cummings' wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, 
his family, and to all who had the great pleasure of knowing him. The 
legacy of Congressman Cummings will endure in this great institution, 
as those that live in the hearts of others never truly perish. May he 
rest in peace.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life 
and legacy of Congressman Elijah Cummings, a friend, mentor, patriot 
and titan of the House of Representatives.
  Congressman Cummings was a giant among us who led with his heart and 
governed with the love of his district and our country. He worked until 
his very last breath for the good of our nation because he believed in 
the power of the American people to make our country a better place for 
our children to live and prosper.
  After all, Congressman Cummings knew firsthand the power of the 
American dream. The son of sharecroppers, he grew up to graduate Phi 
Beta Kappa from Howard University, receive his law degree from the 
University of Maryland and go on to serve his beloved home of Baltimore 
in both the state legislature and in Congress.
  Day in and day out, Congressman Cummings fought to ensure our 
government worked for the people, providing the tools to help Americans 
succeed and the opportunities to make their dreams a reality. He 
understood that patriotism is not looking at our nation's past through 
rosy glasses and a revisionist history, but rather that it is having 
the courage to examine more closely those areas that are broken and 
believing in the power of our system to fix them.
  Social justice was in his blood--when he was just 11 years old, he 
and his friends worked to integrate a segregated swimming pool in his 
native Baltimore. I was honored to work with him closely to ensure 
every American is able to cast his or her ballot on election day. And 
he fought passionately against forces that undermine the integrity of 
our democracy and the principles upon which our nation was founded.
  Congressman Cummings will be forever missed, but his legacy lives on 
and continues to inspire us to live our lives for the benefit of 
others--and the good of our nation.

                          ____________________