FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact – Paul Kincaid – pkincaid@usafmc.org

 

Thursday, October 17, 2019

FMC Statement Following Death Of Elijah Cummings
Maryland Congressman died Thursday at 68

 

(Washington, DC) – The board of directors, membership and staff of FMC, the Association of Former Members of Congress, are in mourning for the loss of U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) following his death Thursday morning in Baltimore.

Cummings began his service in Congress in 1996 and rose to become Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He was highly regarded in Baltimore and Maryland as a civil rights leader and as a legislator who constantly kept his community’s needs as his personal priority.

“Elijah Cummings was one of the most impressive public servants our nation has ever produced,” said Paul Kincaid, FMC Director of Congressional Outreach, who served as Cummings’ press secretary for several years. “His focus was unshakeable; he wanted to do the right thing, for the most people, as often as he possibly could. To paraphrase Sen. Edward Kennedy, Cummings saw injustice and tried to right it; he saw poverty and tried to elevate those who toiled in it; and he saw struggles and tried to make them easier. Baltimore will miss him, Maryland will miss him and the United States is a poorer place for his loss.”

Cummings grew from the son of sharecroppers to attend Howard University and Maryland Law School. He was known as a leader in the African American community in Maryland from the days as a child when he helped integrate Baltimore-area pools to his recent work calming the city following the death of Freddie Gray.

“Congressman Cummings was a giant and he will be missed by all of our shared colleagues in the House and Senate,” said FMC President Martin Frost. “His passion, his energy and his absolute dedication to the people of his district and his state were the ideal of a democratic representative. He is what those who remain in our Congress, and those who will come after, should aspire to. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with his wife Maya, his daughter Jennifer, and his entire extended family, friends and staff.”

Cummings passed away Thursday, following complications from several recent health issues.

 

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