Author Archives: Rep. Elijah Cummings

If you are like me, you shed a few tears of joy late Election Night. Despite America’s (justifiable) fears about what the future may bring, President Barack Obama will continue to lead us forward for a second term. Despite the rancor, deceit and suppression hurled against this very good man who has guided our nation […]

The fires that burn inside of me to protect our vote are personal, as well as social. My great, great grandfather, Mr. Scipio Rhame, was born a slave. Yet, during Reconstruction — just 3 years after his slavery ended — he had the determination to be among the first of our people to register and […]

The fires that burn inside of me to protect our vote are personal, as well as social. My great, great grandfather, Mr. Scipio Rhame, was born a slave. Yet, during Reconstruction — just 3 years after his slavery ended — he had the determination to be among the first of our people to register and […]

In the blur of competing presidential campaigns and debates, some citizens could become confused by the Republicans’ claim that President Obama has not accomplished much during his first term. I chaired Barack Obama’s Maryland campaign 4 years ago – and again this year. I know President Obama to be a brilliant and decent man, a […]

Over the years, I often have reminded my children that, for our family, Labor Day can never be just another holiday. I tell them about A. Phillip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car porters and their role in bringing about the integration of the U.S. military and the movement for civil rights – and […]

As Republicans gather in a noisy, made-for-television convention designed to promote their presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, principled citizens in Pennsylvania and other “Voter ID” states are quietly working to overcome the latest assault upon our fundamental right to vote. I offer this contrast for your consideration some 47 years after Aug. 6, 1965, that historic […]

During this summer of the Olympic Games, it is worthwhile to ask ourselves whether we, too, are willing to go the extra mile to achieve the goals that are important to us. Nowhere will our introspection have more lasting consequence than if it results in greater personal commitment to our public schools. We know this […]

It is becoming abundantly clear that the opponents of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act care little about minority health. David Bositis, senior research director for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, has observed in the {Washington Post} that about 36 percent of African Americans have no health insurance (compared to […]

Last month, President Obama reminded us that we all have a personal stake in the outcome of November’s federal elections. The president fairly and accurately dissected the two competing visions advanced by Republicans and Democrats as to how America can best grow our economy and pay down our national debt. I recommend that every American […]

I am often honored during June of each year by the opportunity to speak at graduation ceremonies. These remarks are among my favorite duties for I know just how much many of these graduates have been forced to overcome. There are lessons for all of us in these annual rites of passage – the commendations […]

On Memorial Day, as Americans remembered those of our countrymen and women who have risked life and limb for the rest of us, I was considering the next step in my ongoing effort to help many of those same brave neighbors and their families win their fight on the home front. Our troops fighting in […]

For several years now, I have been assuring everyone I know that Americans will dig our way out of the Bush Recession. The question remains, however, whether we all will be living in our own homes. The answer for many, I fear, lies as much in ideology as it does in economics. We have seen […]