Quotes from Elijah Cummings

The question is always whether all of Baltimore will rise together or whether we will leave some behind.

Voting is crucial, and I don't give a damn how you look at it: there are efforts to stop people from voting. That's not right. This is not Russia. This is the United States of America.

Our country is slowly but surely moving - and I've seen it over and over again in many instances in government - toward a culture of mediocrity.

Americans of our own time - minority and majority Americans alike - need the continued guidance that the Voting Rights Act provides. We have come a long way, but more needs to be done.

You must have confidence in your competence.

I have a moral conscience that is real central.

The long-standing, non-partisan and publicly-declared foreign policy commitment of the United States is clear. We will do whatever is required to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. Our nation has not ruled out any option that may be required to achieve this objective, including the use of military force.

I'm a lawyer, I practiced for many years, and so I believe in the Fifth Amendment.

I was in special ed, but I felt like I was a caged bird. I felt like I could do better. I made sure I mastered my special ed lessons. I made sure I listened to my teacher. I made sure I did my homework, but I had to do a little extra.

Our decisions about transportation determine much more than where roads or bridges or tunnels or rail lines will be built. They determine the connections and barriers that people will encounter in their daily lives - and thus how hard or easy it will be for people to get where they need and want to go.

Every time something bad happens to me, I don't ask the question, 'Why did it happen to me?' The question I ask is, 'Why did it happen for me?'

My life is based on pain, passion, and purpose.

Our children are the living messages we send to a future we will ever see... Will we rob them of their destiny? Will we rob them of their dreams? No - we will not do that.

You have to understand - I come from a neighborhood where 'The Wire' was filmed.

Come on, man. What's that about?" U.S. Rep. Cummings

I'm going to try and make people realize that in order to live the life they are living, they need to have democracy, and it's being threatened.

I realized that with African American people, where we've been blocked from being all that God meant for us to be, I don't have time to be patient.

It was to carry the American democratic journey beyond these failings that Black citizens and civil rights workers risked unemployment, violence and death.

Most people who are hating on you, they are not worried about where you are. They're worried about where you're going.

I try to remind people that there are a lot of good people, all colors. Then there's some bad ones, too. But there's a lot of good people who really care.

The U.S. Census Bureau acknowledged this fact when it reported that those with a bachelor's degree earn on average $1 million more over their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.

I think it's important for industry to do well. But I want them to do well and do good at the same time.

Price gouging for drugs that treat cancer in children is simply unconscionable.

More than 26,000 lives may be lost to the effects of drug abuse this year. This tragic impact is felt in communities across this great nation. Sadly many of these deaths occur among our young people.