Elijah Cummings: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 14:25, 11 May 2009
Elijah Cummings | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 7th district | |
Assumed office April 16, 1996 | |
Preceded by | Kweisi Mfume |
Maryland House of Delegates 39th District | |
In office January 12, 1983 – January 10, 1996 | |
Succeeded by | Sterling Page |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Dr. Maya Rockeymoore-Cummings |
Residence | Baltimore, Maryland |
Alma mater | Howard University, University of Maryland, Baltimore |
Occupation | attorney |
Elijah Eugene Cummings (born January 18, 1951) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 7th district of the State of Maryland (map) since 1996.
Early life and career
Cummings was born in Baltimore and graduated with honors from the Baltimore City College in 1969. He later attended Howard University in Washington, DC, where he served in student government as sophomore class president, Student Government treasurer and later Student Government President. He became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
Cummings attended law school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, graduating in 1976 and entering the Maryland Bar in December 1976. He practiced law for 19 years before first being elected to the House in the 1996 elections.
For 16 years, Cummings served in the Maryland House of Delegates. In the Maryland General Assembly, he served as Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and was the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker pro Tempore, the second highest position in the House of Delegates.
Congressional career
Cummings was elected to the United States House of Representatives in April 1996 in a special election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District following the resignation of Kweisi Mfume. On November 4, 2008, Congressman Cummings was re-elected for a seventh term with 79.5 percent of the vote.
He received praise and a boost in notoriety following the congressional panel hearings on steroids in March 2005. While investigating the use of steroids in sports, the panel called numerous baseball players to testify, including former legendary slugger Mark McGwire. After McGwire answered many previous questions in a vague fashion, Cummings demanded to know if he was "taking the fifth", referring to the fifth amendment. McGwire responded by saying "I am here to talk about the future not about the past". The exchange came to epitomize the entire inquiry.
Cummings served as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 108th United States Congress. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, an organization of progressive members of Congress.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Joint Economic Committee
Caucus memberships
- Task Force on Health Care Reform
- Co-founder and Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy
Other contributions and service
Cummings also serves on numerous Maryland boards and commissions including the Board of Visitors (BOV) to the United States Naval Academy, the Baltimore Zoo Board of Trustees, the Baltimore Aquarium Board of Trustees, the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors and the Dunbar-Hopkins Health Partnership Executive Board.
In addition to his many speaking engagements, he writes a biweekly column for the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper. He currently lives in the Madison Park community in Baltimore, and is an active member of the New Psalmist Baptist Church. He was mentioned as a possible candidate in 2006 for the United States Senate seat of retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes, but ended up endorsing Kweisi Mfume for the seat instead of running himself (see Maryland United States Senate election, 2006). He is also considered to be a possible candidate for Governor of Maryland in the future.
Election history
References
- United States Congress. "Elijah Cummings (id: C000984)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Official Congressional biography for Representative Cummings.
- Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection.
External links
- Congressman Elijah E. Cummings official U.S. House website
- 1951 births
- African American members of the United States House of Representatives
- Living people
- Members of the Maryland House of Delegates
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
- University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni
- People from Baltimore, Maryland
- Howard University alumni
- Baltimore City College alumni
- Baptists from the United States
- Delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention