Message to Constituents
U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

Representing the 7th U.S. Congressional District of Maryland
http://www.mail.house.gov/cummings
2235 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4741 (tel.) (202) 225-3178 (fax)

September 14, 2005

Dear Constituent:

It is both a privilege and an honor to represent you in the United States Congress. While serving you, I will continue my outreach efforts to inform you of my legislative actions. I welcome your advice. Government “by the people” is the cornerstone of my legislative philosophy.

To better serve you closer to home, I invite you to visit or contact one of my district offices, listed on the following pages.

In addition, we are about to open our office in Ellicott City, MD, for the convenience of those of you who live or work in Howard County. We expect this office to be open by Monday, September 19, 2005.

Please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Elijah E. Cummings
Member of Congress

^{I. Announcements/Dates to Note}

Hurricane Resource Guide: The office of Congressman Cummings has created a Hurricane Katrina Resource Guide for receiving assistance, volunteering and donating cash and services. The guide is available online at http://www.house.gov/cummings. Or you may call (410) 685-9199 to receive a copy.

New Howard County Office: The new Howard County office is expected to open to the public on Monday, September 19, 2005. The office is located at the Ellicott Mills Station Post Office, 8267 Main St., Room 102, Ellicott City, MD, 21043. The phone number will be (410) 465-8259.

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 35th Annual Legislative Conference: Wednesday, September 21 through Saturday, September 24, 2005, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. For more information, call (202) 263-2800 or visit http://www.cbcfinc.org.

2005 Baltimore City Service Academy Night: On Monday, September 26, 2005, Congressman Cummings will host this event with other Maryland federal delegates to inform high school students about college opportunities through Military Service Academies. The event will be held at the Bank of America Building, 100 South Charles Street, 4th Floor in Baltimore from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The special guest speaker will be Captain Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., an astronaut and Naval Academy graduate.

Congressman Cummings applauds all the Baltimore-region residents, government agencies, corporations, charitable organizations, and places of worship that are helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina as they rebuild their lives. Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana on August 27 and 28, displacing thousands of residents and resulting in more than 500 deaths.

“When Hurricane Isabel hit Maryland in 2003, we saw an outpouring of help from around the nation. So now I am proud to see the same outreach from our region to those impacted by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast,” Congressman Cummings said.

Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County have deployed first responders to the Gulf Coast region to help in the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina. The Baltimore City Housing Department has prepared 1,000 beds for evacuees. In addition, area universities including Loyola College, Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University are enrolling college students who can no longer attend school in the affected areas because of the massive damage.

During a Sept. 2 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Congressman Cummings expressed disappointment in the slow federal response to the relief effort. He emphasized that one of the most vivid examples of this neglect was the large number of New Orleans’ survivors who followed instructions and evacuated to the city’s Superdome, but were left without sufficient food, water and sanitation for several days.

“Mr. President, the least of our brothers have lost the little they had. They are hungry, they are suffering, and they are vulnerable now to the worst expressions of human desperation. You have recognized that our response to date has fallen short of our duties,” Congressman Cummings said before several national media outlets. “We are called on to do all that is necessary to care for our brothers at this time. And we pledge to work with you to extend our nation’s hand and all of our nation’s resources to those in dire need.”

Following the press conference, Congressman Cummings spoke with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the relief efforts and the next day, attended a White House briefing with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff and other Administration officials. At the meeting, he was joined by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President/CEO Bruce Gordon and National Urban League President/CEO Marc Morial regarding action plans for further relief.

“I emphasized to the Administration officials that we must first rescue those still trapped inside New Orleans and then help reconstruct the lives of the survivors,” Congressman Cummings said. “And this must be done with the same urgency as the rescue efforts for other tragic circumstances such as the September 11 terrorist attacks.”

During the week of September 6, Congressman Cummings voted to provide more than $60 billion in federal funds for hurricane relief. He also co-sponsored legislation entitled, “Emergency Management Restoration and Improvement Act,” (H.R. 3659), that would make the Federal Emergency Management Agency an independent agency and help expedite the response time to national emergencies.

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Congressman Cummings offered the family of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist his sympathy and prayers on the event of the Justice’s death on September 3, 2005.

“Our entire nation has been inspired by his courage and his dedication to public service during a long, courageous battle against thyroid cancer,” Congressman Cummings said. “I share Chief Justice Rehnquist's love for the rule of law that supports the continuity and strength of our free society. All Americans should remember him well for his determined defense of an independent judiciary.”

Congressman Cummings acknowledged, however, that he did not share Justice Rehnquist's limited vision of the power of the national government and disagreed with his rulings and opinions on several landmark cases before the Court.

“Yet, despite that fundamental disagreement, I was fond of the Chief Justice as a human being - and I admired him as a tireless advocate for his convictions,” Congressman Cummings said. “William Rehnquist remained true to his principles and his love for America until the end. In these qualities, all Americans can find a legitimate basis for admiration.”

Congressman Cummings has helped secure the following grants that will benefit the residents of the 7th Congressional district:

$2.9 Million Youth Grant: The Cal Ripkin, Sr. Foundation Inc. of Baltimore will receive $2,959,930 from the U.S. Department of Justice to provide baseball training to youth and to coordinate after school activities.

$1.2 Million to Study Maternal-to-Infant HIV: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award this grant to Johns Hopkins University to study the transmission of HIV between an expectant mother and her unborn child.

$801,023 for Heart Disease Research: Johns Hopkins will receive this HHS grant to study methods of reducing cardiovascular risk in urban communities.

$491,042 to the University of Maryland at Baltimore: This grant will be used for helping with the construction costs of a health care facility at the University.

$343,723 for the National Healthy Start Association: The association will receive this grant to fund mandated programs that aim to reduce infant mortality.

Baltimore Office
1010 Park Avenue, Suite 105
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 685-9199 and (410) 685-9399 fax
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Catonsville Office
754 Frederick Road
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
(410) 719-8777 and (410) 455-0110 fax
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Howard County Office - Set to open on September 19, 2005
8267 Main Street, Room 102
Ellicott Mills Post Office
Ellicott City, MD 21043-8267
(410) 465-8259 and (410) 465-8740
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.