Richard Gephardt: “I rise to recognize and welcome our new colleague, the gentleman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings. This young man was born…”

“I rise to recognize and welcome our new colleague, the gentleman from Maryland, Elijah Cummings. This young man was born and raised in the same city he now serves, the city of Baltimore. He knows the neighborhoods, the schools, the stores and the churches, because he lived among them all of his life. He has never lost his passion for building a better Baltimore, for giving something back to the city and community that has given so much to him. He took his Phi Beta Kappa degree from Howard University and his law degree from the University of Maryland, and went right back to Baltimore, building a highly distinguished career as a lawyer, and then serving four terms in the Maryland General Assembly. In the Maryland House he was a leader on criminal justice issues, on constitutional law, and on economic issues. After one term he was elected chairman of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, the youngest person ever to hold that post.”