Elijah Eugene Cummings was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for Maryland's 7th congressional district from 1996 until his death in 2019. The district includes just over half of the city of Baltimore, most of the majority-black precincts of Baltimore County, as well as most of Howard County. He previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
In remarks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Cummings declared: "Our party does not just believe, but understands, that Black Lives Matter. But we also recognize that our community and our law enforcement work best when they work together."
| Chair of the House Oversight Committee | |
|---|---|
| In office January 3, 2019 – October 17, 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | Trey Gowdy |
| Succeeded by | Carolyn Maloney (acting) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 7th district | |
| In office April 16, 1996 – October 17, 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | Kweisi Mfume |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 39th district | |
| In office January 12, 1983 – January 10, 1996 |
|
| Preceded by | Lena King Lee |
| Succeeded by | Sterling Page |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Elijah Eugene Cummings January 18, 1951 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | October 17, 2019 (aged 68) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Joyce Matthews Maya Rockeymoore (m. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Howard University (BA) University of Maryland, Baltimore (JD) |
Video: Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings
Legislation
Cummings introduced the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014, a bipartisan bill signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in December 2014. The bill, which Cummings co-sponsored with Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, is a set of amendments to the Federal Records Act and Presidential Records Act. Among other provisions, the bill modernizes the definition of a federal record to expressly include electronic documents.
Elijah Cummings
He supported the Smart Savings Act, a bill that would make the default investment in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) an age-appropriate target date asset allocation investment fund (L Fund) instead of the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund). Cummings called the bill a "commonsense change" and argued that the bill "will enable workers to take full advantage of a diversified fund designed to yield higher returns".
He introduced the All Circuit Review Extension Act, a bill that would extend for three years the authority for federal employees who appeal a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to file their appeal at any U.S. circuit court of appeals, instead of only the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Cummings said that this program is important to extend because it "allows whistleblowers to file appeals where they live rather than being limited to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals". He also said that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has "an abysmal track record in whistleblower cases".
Cummings received 12 honorary doctoral degrees from universities across the United States, most recently an honorary Doctor of Public Service from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2017.
