United States Representative Elijah E. Cummings Post Office Building

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in very proud support of H.R. 9544. It is a proud day for people of Maryland. It is a proud day for the House Oversight Committee.

It is a proud day for the United States Congress that we have the opportunity to vote on a post office named after the late, great chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Elijah Cummings.

Mr. Speaker, Elijah Cummings was a favorite son of Maryland who devoted his life and his career to making the government an instrument of the common good for everyone and uplifting everybody in our society together. He was always seeking that higher ground, always telling us in the midst of debate and discussion we are better than this, that we can always lift ourselves higher to find unity and consensus around the values that make our country great.

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Mr. RASKIN. Ocasio-Cortez), the vice ranking member of the Oversight Committee.

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Mr. RASKIN. Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank my good friends from Maryland, Mr. Mfume and Mr. Raskin, for their diligent work on this bill to honor the life and legacy of Elijah Cummings.

Chairman Cummings was known throughout this Chamber and the Nation as a man of strength and integrity and someone who compassionately yet fearlessly wielded his powers of oversight and transparency to make our Nation as strong as it could possibly be.

He was also a mentor to me and many others, and someone I proudly called my friend. I had the privilege of serving on the Committee on Oversight and Reform under Chairman Cummings and saw up close how he fought for what is right and just, even if it wasn't popular.

Elijah Cummings was also known for telling hard truths. It didn't matter who you were, what your politics were, or where you came from. He told difficult truths to American baseball heroes who had tarnished our beloved pastimes, and he confronted powerful people who priced prescription drugs beyond the reach of our citizens.

One of Elijah Cummings' best qualities was that he listened, and more importantly, he actually heard you. He heard you whether you were a schoolteacher or a janitor, a colleague here in Congress or the President of the United States.

I still carry the advice that Chairman Cummings gave to me, and I am sure he shared it with many of you as well: You need to think about the decisions you make and their impact not just on the moment at hand but on the future.

I could spend all day listing out his legislative and political accomplishments, but one thing stands out and cements his lasting impact: the thousands of people he inspired to fight for justice and freedom.

He served this House and the American people with grace, unmatched integrity, and passion. He loved the city and the people of Baltimore, and they loved him right back.

This post office is another visible and lasting testament of respect for this true American giant, and I proudly support this bill and encourage all of my colleagues to do the same and continue to acknowledge the incredible legacy and leadership of this remarkable man.

Rest in power, my friend.

Elijah Cummings was a great Representative for the people of Baltimore and for the people of Maryland. He was a great leader, and he was a great teacher, too.

I remember when I was in my third term in office, and I had started off here on the Judiciary Committee and the Oversight Committee, to which Chairman Cummings had recruited me. I was also on the House Administration Committee. Then, I had an invitation to go on the Rules Committee, but I was afraid that I might be overextended.

I went and sat right over on the floor next to Chairman Cummings where he liked to sit, and I told him that I was afraid that I might be overburdening myself with too many committees. He turned silent for a moment, and then he said: ``Raskin''--he spoke very sharply to me at that moment. I had never heard him use that tone of voice. I said: Yes? He said: You are never too busy to do that which you ought to be doing.

I never forgot that, and I have used that line for a lot of other colleagues. People will complain about being tired and exhausted and so on, but we are never too busy to be doing that which we ought to be doing.

Congressman Mfume, with this visionary legislation, is setting up a post office at 340 South Loudon Avenue in Baltimore that will be graced with the name of the great Elijah Cummings. How fitting that is, a place where people go to send letters and messages, because another thing I remember Chairman Cummings always saying was that children are the ultimate message that we send to future generations of people who we will never meet. He meant we have to invest in children and young people because they will end up defining a world that will long outlast and outsurvive us.

I hope that post office lasts forever, and I hope when parents take their kids to that post office to mail their letters, they will be able to tell them that there was once a great man named Elijah Cummings whose whole life repays a lot of study for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 9544, legislation in honor of a true American hero, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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