Elijah Cummings

I spent six months laying in a hospital bed thinking about my death and my life.

I am a man of my word.

I think every single person in this House and on both sides want an accurate count.

If you care about democracy, I would suggest that everyone read Judge Furman's decision where he clearly and factually points out that this was contrary to all of the advice of all the professionals.

Every professional at the Census Bureau, not political appointees, professionals said this will lead to an undercount, thereby undermining our representation and our democracy.

We have been trying to get certain documents for months, and we specifically requested it in advance of this hearing.

Mr. Secretary, as we evaluate the truth, we often look to see whether testimony is corroborated by documents.

Based on these agreements, I expect Secretary Ross to fully answer all of our questions about the census.

Experts... warned, and I quote, that it harms the quality of the census challenge.

We will look to our very able Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, headed up by the Honorable Jamie Raskin, to followup with additional hearings.

The Constitution requires us to count every person.

I do not think people really fully understand the volume of African American people who are locked up for offenses like dealing with marijuana and things of that nature, nonviolent.

I think a lot of people do not realize how difficult it is when someone has a record.

The idea is to give people a chance so that they can then go forward and do for their families.

What they wanted more than anything was to be productive members of society. They wanted to have a job.

I am going to be very brief.

We can do better. We can provide meaningful opportunities to those who have paid their dues who are seeking a second chance.

Our bill would do what many state agencies and private corporations are already doing.

It is my hope that members of this committee and all of my colleagues will look at a strong, bipartisan support of this bill already has and join this effort to reduce recidivism, strengthen communities by banning the box at the Federal…

The Fair Chance Act is important, both in terms of what it does, and in terms of the example it sets.

I worked on the First Step Act with my friend, Hakeem Jeffries and introduced it with a belief that we can and should do better when it comes to our prison system and our criminal justice system.

I support the bill, and we all should support the bill.

Criminal justice reform is very personal to me. I have seen the problems that plague the system through many lenses.

It will give formerly incarcerated individuals a fair chance at a job and a piece of the American dream.

Numerous people create calendar entries on what can be labeled my calendar to maintain a schedule for the organization of daily appointments, both personal and official.