Media and Public Details for Funeral Service of Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 24, 2019

Contact: Trudy Perkins (410) 685-9199

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings 1951 – 2019

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where he resided until his death. He
obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Howard University, serving as Student Government President
and graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He later graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law. Congressman
Cummings also received 13 honorary doctoral degrees from universities throughout the nation.

Congressman Cummings dedicated his life of service to uplifting and empowering the people he was sworn to
represent. He began his career of public service in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served for 14 years and
became the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker Pro Tempore. From 1996 until 2019,
Congressman Cummings proudly represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of
Representatives, where his voting record reflected his deep allegiance to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The Congressman often said that his vote for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 was the most
important he ever cast. In 2014, he fought to include prostate cancer in the Compassionate Allowances listing allowing
the Social Security Administration to cover medications, medical procedures, and provide financial support for men who
can no longer work and provide a living for themselves and their families. Over one million men have benefitted from
this policy.

Dedicated to reforming our criminal justice system, the Congressman was proud of his work on the MERCY Act, which
was included in the First Step Act, the CARE Act, the REDEEM Act, and the Fair Chance Act.
During the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, the Congressman marched the streets urging the
community to go home ahead of the curfew.

Less known, Congressman Cummings compiled one of the strongest pro-environment voting records during his decades
in the U.S. House of Representatives. The son of a working-class family who achieved a measure of economic security
through his father’s membership in the Chemical Workers Union, he also strongly supported labor unions.

In January 2011, Congressman Cummings became the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform—the main investigative committee in the House of Representatives, with jurisdiction to investigate
any matter at any time. For eight years, he was a tenacious leader of the Democratic Members of the Committee,
conducting vigorous oversight to address the housing and foreclosure crisis; to protect the health, safety, and pocketbooks
of Americans; to increase diversity while working to root out hazing in the military; to combat "drug speculation" by
"gray market" drug companies; to tackle the skyrocketing costs of certain prescription drugs; to examine the compensation
packages of top executives at for-profit colleges; take on efforts to suppress the vote; to investigate the Flint water crisis;
and to ensure that the Secret Service is effective and efficient. Cummings also introduced legislation to stem gun
trafficking and to protect the rights of whistleblowers.

This year, Congressman Cummings became the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. He fought to hold
the current Administration to a high standard of excellence, including protecting immigrant children from “empathy
deficit” policies. One of his final acts as Chairman was to sign subpoenas for documents related to the Administration’s
policy to deport critically ill children. Chairman Cummings also fought to ensure that we have an accurate 2020
Census, combat the opioid crisis, protect our national security, increase transparency in the federal government,
and highlight significant problems with the White House security clearance process.

One of his highest priorities in Congress was lowering the prices of prescription drugs. He introduced the Medicare Drug
Price Negotiation Act and personally met with President Trump to try and work with him on this critical
issue. He launched one of the most wide-ranging investigations in Congress into the prescription drug industry’s pricing
practices, and he held multiple hearings with patients and advocates. In honor of his dedication to this issue, the House of
Representatives renamed H.R.3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, after the Congressman.

Congressman Cummings was also a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and was
dedicated to ensuring Maryland had safe infrastructure that would allow the state to prosper. In July, he announced $125
million in federal funding for the Howard Street Tunnel expansion project. He was incredibly proud of the work he did to
secure $90 million for Baltimore’s Penn Station. The Congressman created a partnership with Greyhound and Baltimore
City Community College to create a diesel mechanic and diesel technician training program.

From 2008 to 2013, during the nation’s foreclosure crisis, he convened nine foreclosure prevention workshops. An
average of 1,000 homeowners attended each workshop. Congressman Cummings hosted 22 annual How to Pay for
College Seminars, as well as annual job fairs with some years having thousands of participants. The Congressman also
awarded college scholarships through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship Program. Annually, he
also hosted an App Challenge and Art Competition for high school students and developed a nationally recognized U.S.
Service Academy Program to nominate students to military service academies.

Congressman Cummings often said that our children are the living messages that we send to a future we will never
see. The Congressman partnered with City of Baltimore Health Department and Vision for Baltimore to provide free
eyeglasses to Baltimore students. He secured funding to expand mental health services in schools. He founded the School
Safety Solutions Summit with Dr. Nancy Grasmick to create policies to improve school environments and increase
student academic achievement. And he was a fierce advocate for OrchKids, the Parks and People program, SuperKids
summer mentoring program, and increased summer YouthWorks funding.

Congressman Cummings served on numerous boards and commissions. He spearheaded an effort to strengthen the
Maritime Transportation Technologies Program at New Era Academy (NEA) in Baltimore, serving as Chairman of the
NEA Maritime Advisory Board. He also served on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the Morgan State
University Board of Regents, the University of Maryland Law School Board of Advisors, and the SEED School of
Maryland Board of Directors. He also sat on the Board of Directors of the AFRO Charities, Inc. He was an honorary
Board member of KIPP Baltimore Schools and the Baltimore School for the Arts. He was also the holder of the
Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair in Public Policy Lecture Series at Howard University from 2014 –
2016. Please contact the office for a full list of boards and organizations of which the Congressman was a part.
Congressman Cummings was an active member of New Psalmist Baptist Church and is survived by his widow, Dr. Maya
Rockeymoore Cummings, and children Jennifer and Adia.

POSITIONS IN CONGRESS

 Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Reform (116th Congress)
 Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (112th Congress – 115th Congress)
 Ranking Member, Select Committee on Benghazi (113th Congress)
 Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
o Chair, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation (110th – 111th Congresses)
 Member, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Prior to 112th Congress)
o Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources (107th – 109th
Congresses)
o Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Civil Service (105th – 106th Congresses)
 Member, Joint Economic Committee (109th – 113th Congresses)
 Member, Committee on Armed Services (110th Congress)
 Chair, Congressional Black Caucus (108th Congress)

SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Total Bills Introduced: 210
Total Bills that Passed the House: 47
Total introduced legislative measures that have been enacted into law in some form or, in the case of resolutions,
been passed by the House: 26

For more information about his accomplishments, please visit Congress.Gov or Cummings.House.Gov.
**For a digital copy of this fact sheet please email: MD07.Press@Mail.House.Gov**