On Saturday, July 19, I will be hosting a free foreclosure prevention event at the Coppin State University New Dining Facility at 2500 North Avenue in Baltimore City from 10am to 3pm. The event will include mortgage lenders, housing counselors, and real estate professionals to allow the discussion and possible negotiation of solutions to help families in danger of foreclosure save their homes. Additionally, the event will educate real estate professionals about available programs for home loan assistance. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Harry Spikes at 410.685.9199.

Congratulations to the following students who, as of May 1, have been appointed to the military service academies from the 7th Congressional District!
U.S. Naval Academy (USNA): Daniel Bennett, Lee Vinh Dam, Andrew Hahn, Jonathan Hill, and Rajiv Stone; Brandon Hill-Rogers received a position at the USNA Prep School.
U.S. Military Academy (USMA): Amy Lebair and Brian Severson; Kelechi Odocha received a position at the USMA Prep School.
U.S. Air Force Academy: Kenneth Johnson received a position at the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School.

Last month, by a vote of 395-7, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008, despite the threat of a Presidential veto. Since assuming the Chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I have held numerous hearings on important challenges and issues facing the Coast Guard as it finds the balance between its traditional duties and its new homeland security duties. It is from these hearings that many of the important provisions in H.R. 2830 came to be.

Last December, following media reports that Mattel continued to sell a toy medical kit containing a blood pressure cuff with extremely high levels of lead, I reached out to the company’s CEO requesting that the company pull the medical kit off of store shelves nationwide and stop using lead in the production of its toys. Unfortunately, in the instance of the blood pressure cuff, the lead was not in violation of federal law because it was embedded in the plastic of the toy—which is not currently subject to federal regulations. In January, I renewed these requests—this time joined by nearly 60 of my colleagues.

Among other things, the Coast Guard Authorization would implement new policies to strengthen the Coast Guard’s marine safety program, protect the marine environment from invasive species, ensure that mariners receive fair hearings to appeal the revocation of their licenses, and strengthen the security around terminals for the highly flammable substance liquefied natural gas (LNG).  If ignited, LNG can cause a fire so hot that it emits thermal radiation, burning people up to a mile away. The bill would also require the public disclosure of statistics for crimes committed on cruises and instate new policies to increase diversity within the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Academy.

 Mattel has since sent representatives to meet with me and discuss the company’s new three-stage safety check for lead in children’s products. I have asked the company to supply documents that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the implementation of this new policy. Additionally, I sent requests to four other major toy companies for a briefing on their safety standards for lead in toys. This is a very serious matter, and I want to be sure that these industry leaders are doing everything in their power to ensure that their products are safe for our children. You can read more about the letters by clicking here.

Last month, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on infections acquired in hospitals, such as the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection that was in the news late last year. The hearing identified several critical policy objectives for resolving the problem of hospital-acquired infections, many of which are already addressed in H.R. 4214, the Community and Healthcare-Associated Infections Reduction Act of 2007 (CHAIR Act), legislation that I introduced in response to increasing outbreaks of MRSA. For more information on the CHAIR Act, click here.

 
Congressman Cummings meets with student athletes between sessions at the annual Powered by ME! conference on April 18 to discuss steroids. Powered by ME! is a unique campaign originated by Congressman Cummings in conjunction with St. Joseph’s Medical Center that educates young athletes in and around Baltimore City about the risks and dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

Last month, I hosted my 7th Annual District Job Fair in Baltimore City. The event, which is always free and open to the public, featured workshops focused on aiding youth seeking to gain work experience, as well as ex-offenders seeking employment. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and the Maryland Department of General Services were just a few of the many employers present to share information about employment opportunities. With more than 1,000 people in attendance, the event was a great success, and I have already received quite a bit of feedback from many of the men and women who attended. If you were unable to attend the job fair, please call my office at 410.685.9199 for a list of participating employers as well as their contact information.

• $69,454,718 to Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc., Columbia, Md. for engineering support services.
• $1,863,370 to Maryland Transit Administration for the purchase of 38 new buses in Baltimore.
• $1,802,720 to Johns Hopkins University for the Biological Response to Environmental Health Hazards program.
• $732,216 to Md. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for improving access to Medicare and Medicaid care.