Elijah Cummings

It just seems to me that we need to move from just criticism to actually making the repairs that are necessary.

You know, Emerson said we should not be pushed around by our problems and our fears, but we should be guided by our hopes and our dreams.

Clearly, as has been said earlier, it may seem like we are in disagreement today, but the fact is that these risk corridors were something that under Medicare Part D are still in existence and will continue to be and has been for 10 years.

If you are trying to create a new image for yourselves, one of truly caring for people facing hardship, why in the world would you eliminate a program that you invented that has been working for nearly a decade and that saves taxpayers…

Isn't it true that convictions for even minor, non-violent drug possession have a significant negative effect on an individual, their families, community, and the Nation?

I want to discuss what a conviction for marijuana possession, no matter how small, means for most individuals across the Country.

This is, without a doubt, a historic achievement.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I hope that our witnesses can shed some light on the many lies that you allege have been told.

No person or group has maliciously accessed personally identifiable information on the HealthCare.gov Web site.

If we repeal the law today, it would increase our deficit by more than 1.5 trillion--not billion--trillion dollars.

As I close. Again, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to thank our chairman and the members of our committee for making this happen. Again, there are situations where we find the law needs clarification. This is one of…

Mr. Chairman, I am very glad to hear you say what you just said, because, you know, there is an old song that says you have got me going in circles.

One of the things I have learned after being on the Earth for 62 years is that a lot of times people don't do things because they can't do everything that they want to do.

We just have to have the will to get it done. And we will get it done.

It seems like this President gets no credit for anything. Nothing. Zilch.

Why don't we want to give the President any credit?

I certainly understand the logic behind free market principles, but I think we need to recognize that private corporations are not going to necessarily look out for the poorest, the sickest, and the least fortunate among us.

The Federal Government therefore deserves a great deal of credit for doubling, doubling life expectancy for Americans, as well as for tackling a long and ever-changing list of problems regarded as the worst enemies in the Nation's health.

I must say that, Dr. Thomas, I had an opportunity to read your testimony and I think it is appropriate that I start out by just quoting a little bit of it, because this is reading that every single American and every member of Congress…

My father, a former share cropper with a second grade education, used to say somebody's going to pay.

I very much support that.

We need the CIOs to be strengthened in this government from the standpoint of their empowerment.

I hope that the folks who were part of the process will hear the things that you are talking about.

I do not, I just don't believe in failure. We are better than that.

That is a serious attack against your integrity.