Press Release

Cummings Votes to Reprimand Rep. Wilson, Encourages House to Focus on Healthcare

(Washington, DC) – Following his yea vote on H.Res. 744, reprimanding Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), for his conduct during the Joint Session of Congress on September 9, 2009, Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-07) inserted a statement into the Congressional Record including the following:

“Congressman Wilson’s outburst was a clear violation of the House rules. How will we serve as a model of democracy -- around the globe -- and to our children here at home, if we cannot be the change we seek?

That said -- we must focus on the most important issue at hand.

This episode has not stopped a plumber in Columbia, or a saleswoman in Baltimore, from lying awake at night, frightened beyond belief because in the blink of an eye, their jobs and their insurance could disappear.

We must not be distracted. Though Rep. Wilson was wrong, that wrong is nothing, compared to allowing one more American to suffer and die because they cannot afford the care they need to live.”