United States Representative Elijah E. Cummings Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we are better than this. Surely, all of us ought to be saying that to ourselves as we conclude this Congress. We are better than this. You will hear that said so often when we talk about our friend, Elijah Cummings.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation. The Old Testament tells us of a man long ago who saw injustice, wrongdoing, and suffering and devoted his life to banishing these evils from his native land, a man who kept an enduring faith not only in God, but in his fellow men and women, a man who inspired that same faith in the people around him. That man was Elijah the prophet.

The Elijah I served with in Congress for nearly 23 years was my dear friend Elijah Cummings. He was like Elijah the prophet. He possessed a moral clarity that guided him in every part of his life.

Whether it was protecting voting rights, alleviating poverty, expanding civil rights, or promoting justice, Elijah Cummings demonstrated principled tenacity and boundless energy when standing up for the causes in which he believed. He believed in this House's ability and sacred responsibility to better our Republic and the lives of each and every one of our citizens.

It was because of that belief that he held all who served in this House to such a high standard of ethics, the same standard to which he held himself.

When he believed this institution was falling short of that standard, he would demand of us, as I said at the beginning and will repeat again: ``We are better than this.''

Frankly, as we sit in these extraordinary seats given to us only through the hands of our neighbors and friends in our districts, when we have the opportunity to make a decision, we ought to have resounding in our head that someone will say when we act that we are not better than this but we are what we have done. We need to be better.

No place benefited from Elijah's principled leadership more than his hometown. He was a true son of Baltimore.

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, he was a true son of Baltimore, the city of grit, of opportunity, of hard work, and, as they would say of themselves, of charm.

He loved his city, and his city loved him in return.

Naming this post office after him pays tribute to his lifelong devotion to Baltimore, to democracy, to justice, to the average person, to every person, to his brothers and sisters, and to his country.

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we lost Elijah far too early. His memory continues to guide us. His example is one to which all Members of this institution, all Members, all Americans, and all people ought to aspire.

Attaching his name to this post office will serve as a reminder to all who seek, in his words, ``not just common ground, but higher ground.''

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