[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 169 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6152-S6153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING ELIJAH CUMMINGS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, my heart is heavy today as we mourn the 
loss of Congressman Elijah Cummings. He was a powerful voice for the 
people of Baltimore, a champion of justice for our country, and a dear 
friend to me and so many others.
  I first met Elijah when he was elected to the Maryland House of 
Delegates, where I was the speaker, but our lives had intersected in 
formative ways even before that. We both grew up in Baltimore and 
shared a deep and abiding love for the city. We went to the same high 
school--Baltimore City College High School--and we both earned law 
degrees from the University of Maryland before balancing private law 
practices with public service in the Maryland General Assembly.
  So when I met Elijah, I couldn't help but feel a kinship with him, 
but I think that was perhaps just Elijah's power--the ability to build 
kinship with anyone and the commitment to do so with everyone. He was 
constantly searching for common ground, always looking to make human 
connections. As a result, he developed meaningful friendships with 
people all over the political, social, religious, and geographic map.
  Elijah's talent for building consensus, as well as his work ethic and 
dedication to his constituents, propelled him early on to positions of 
leadership in the Maryland House of Delegates. There, he became the 
youngest ever chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and the first 
African American to be named speaker pro tempore. He served in that 
chamber for 14 years, during which he worked tirelessly to advance the 
rights and opportunities of Maryland residents.
  Then, in 1996, Elijah was elected to represent Maryland's Seventh 
District, including our home of Baltimore, in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. He filled a seat previously occupied by civil rights 
legacies Parren Mitchell and Kweisi Mfume, and, let me tell you, there 
was no person more prepared to carry on their fight for equality and 
freedom.
  Elijah was the son of sharecroppers who worked the same land in South 
Carolina where his ancestors had been enslaved. His parents moved to 
Baltimore to build a better life for their family, but the city was 
rife with racial intolerance. From a young age, Elijah faced prejudice 
and discrimination. He attended a segregated elementary school, and he 
was pelted with bottles, rocks, and jeers when he and other children 
integrated the local public swimming pool.
  In the face of all that hatred, he found the hope and determination 
to overcome every obstacle set before him so that he could rise up and 
lift others up too. He worked diligently, excelling as an undergraduate 
at Howard University, going to law school even though people told him 
he could never become a lawyer, successfully practicing law, and then 
launching a career of public service that led him to the U.S. Congress. 
Elijah continued to climb until he was elected Chairman of the House 
Oversight Committee.
  All the while, he remained firmly based in his community. He lived in 
the same house in West Baltimore for more than 30 years--in the inner 
inner city, as he put it--and he returned home every night after a long 
day of work in DC. He was known to sit on the stoop of that house and 
feed the neighborhood pigeons. And every Sunday, he went to church, 
where he was often met by a line of people waiting to share their 
concerns, and he would listen to them and try to help them all.
  Elijah never for a moment forgot that his purpose was to represent 
the folks back home in his district, to be a voice for the many who 
were silenced. He once said that while it was his ``constitutional duty 
to conduct oversight of the executive branch,'' it was his ``moral 
duty'' to fight for his constituents. And fight, he did. In the 23 
years that he spent in Congress, he was a fierce advocate for his 
district, especially for Baltimore. Where others saw problems and 
danger, he saw opportunities and solutions. He advanced measures to 
improve education, to expand affordable housing, to curb addiction, to 
enhance public infrastructure, to promote gun safety, and to reform 
police practices. He worked to erase the racial and class divides that 
he had grown up with, so that future generations of Baltimoreans would 
not face the same obstacles he did.
  Although he never shied away from contentious issues, he also 
understood when harmony and healing were needed. After the tragic death 
of Freddie Gray, Elijah went to the streets to ask the citizens of 
Baltimore to come together and find a peaceful path forward. Then, true 
to form, he launched into action, pushing hard for policies and 
programs to help the city recover.
  Because of his heroic service to his constituents, Elijah was beloved 
by his community, perhaps more than any other elected official I have 
known. His loss is a devastating blow to Baltimore and to Elijah's 
entire congressional district.
  But it is not just Maryland that will feel this loss--Elijah's 
passing leaves an unfillable void for the Nation as a whole. He loved 
this country deeply. Elijah believed in the potential of American 
ideals, so he held us to the highest moral standards. In moments of 
moral crisis, he would famously remind whoever was listening, ``We are 
better than this!''
  He was passionate about rooting out corruption, protecting our 
democracy, and achieving equality and freedom for all. As chairman of 
the Oversight Committee and in life, he fought for what was right 
simply because it was right. And Heaven forbid anyone should stand 
between Elijah Cummings and justice, because, while Elijah was always 
calm and respectful, he was never afraid to hold someone's feet to the 
fire.

[[Page S6153]]

  He gave every ounce of himself, up until his last day on Earth, to 
defending the honor of our Republic. We have lost a booming voice for 
truth, fairness, and liberty that can never be replaced.
  I grieve for a nation without Elijah's leadership. I know that we 
will hold his legacy close to our hearts and that we will strive to 
follow his example of moral clarity, but the loss of Elijah Cummings 
has ripped a hole in the fabric of our country that cannot be fully 
mended.
  My thoughts and prayers are with Elijah's wife Maya, his three 
children, and all of his loved ones. Know that we are mourning 
alongside you.
  And to Elijah--you left this world a better place than how you found 
it. Now it is time to rest.

                          ____________________