PoliticsPoliticsCongressU.S. House of Representatives

Elijah Cummings' Poetic First Speech On The House Floor Goes Viral

The veteran Democrat, who died Thursday at 68, recited a poem he said he lived by during his first-ever address in the chamber.
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Footage of the first speech that Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) ever delivered on the House floor is going viral on Twitter following the veteran congressman’s death on Thursday at the age of 68.

Cummings received a standing ovation for his April 1996 debut in the chamber, during which he recited a poem about the ephemerality of life and declared his mission was to empower people.

He also repeated a refrain from his time in the Maryland House of Delegates about the world being “a much better world and a much better place if we would only concentrate on things we have in common instead of concentrating on our differences.”

“It’s easy to find differences. Very easy. We need to take more time to find common ground,” he said.

Check out the video here:

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