Elijah Cummings

If we remain silent, if we remain silent in the face of these actions, hate will become our new normal.

These were not accidental lapses of off-the-cuff remarks. They are genuine statements from the leading Republican candidate for President of the United States of America in 2016.

What I absolutely do not support, however, is the hateful rhetoric we hear and have heard coming from some my members of the Republican Party who disparage all immigrants with false condemnation.

The crimes that were committed against them were brutal and barbaric, and their lives were stolen away from them all too soon.

To me that is criminal.

We certainly cannot have a situation where whistleblowers even worry about retaliation let alone be the victims of it.

Gentlemen, we have to do better. We got to do better.

I remember that. I spend a lot of time on these issues that he's talking about, these pharmaceutical issues.

We may have our differences of opinion, but we need to be working from the same information.

I want to thank you, Mr. Meyer, for your willingness to be here today to discuss TSA's responsiveness to the committee's request in documents and for your commitment to ensuring that TSA responds to this committee's oversight in a…

I'm also somewhat disturbed that TSA has provided official briefings to the committee's majority staff that excluded minority staff.

I trust my friend and his staff, but they get them one day. Then they may have to copy, do whatever, and I don't know when we'll get them.

It is impossible for us to do our job without documents.

I agree with you, we have very effective drug courts in Maryland, and I know what you are talking about.

There are also a group of people who are truly addicted, and they are dying at 78 a day.

As a matter of fact, probably most of the crime in Baltimore has something to do with drugs in one way or another.

When you see the masses of people who are using, it is painfully painful, I am telling you.

I would invite you at some point to come with me to Baltimore.

This is an American issue that affects your sisters, your brothers, your sons, and your daughters.

We can no longer allow drug companies to keep ripping off taxpayers for life-saving medications.

So, yes, I believe it was unconscionable that our nation ignored this issue for decades, but now Republicans and Democrats are starting to work together.

Why is this happening? In part, it is a result of doctors over-prescribing pain medication and drug companies urging them on so they can make massive profits.

Let me tell you why Federal funding is so important. In my home town of Baltimore, I witnessed with my own eyes, in my own neighborhood, the destruction drug addiction inflicts on our communities.

We must also fully fund President Obama's budget request for $1.1 billion in 2017.

Last week, Leader Pelosi sent a letter urging Speaker Ryan to schedule a vote on $600 million in emergency funding to help states address this epidemic before this recess week.