Rob Lang of WBAL radio has a story on a statement by Elijah Cummings’ office on Mark McGwire’s admission that he took steroids. The Cummings statement is also on their site if you want to read it – since, as of yet, it’s not on the Cummings website.

From the story:

Five years ago, Mark McGwire refused to answer a question from Maryland 7th District Congressman Elijah Cummings during a hearing on the use of steroids in baseball.

Now that McGwire has admitted to steroid use, Cummings said that he is happy McGwire has made the admission.

Now Cummings says McGwire should do what Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has been doing and talk about the dangers of steroid use to young people.

From the statement:

“I am happy that Mr. McGwire has finally admitted what has been speculated about for so long,” said Cummings. “His playing career was tainted with the scourge of steroids, as indicated by the recent Hall of Fame voting, but it was further marred by his refusal to admit wrongdoing and failure to try to rebuild his credibility. Now, after apologizing and admitting wrongdoing, he can do exactly that. “

According to various news reports including this one from MLB.com, McGwire was prepared to testify that he used steroids but was not given immunity from prosecution at the time of his testimony. McGwire told Bob Costas that yesterday, and Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia confirmed it to be true by saying that then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales turned down a request from Davis’ office for immunity for McGwire’s testimony.

I posted the other day about a new congressional expense report released for the 3rd Quarter of 2009. The complete report is here. I also have the numbers from the Maryland delegation below. The funding source is taxpayer dollars. Based on the Maryland delegation, Lockheed Martin Desktop Solutions and The Accurate Word LLC are really raking in the cash from all the members of Congress from the whole country.

The left column of figures is year to date (YTD) while the right column is for the 3rd Quarter. You can click on the thumbnails to get the full-sized image. I provided commentary on specific items below the general numbers. The commentary is just based on what looks unusual to me.

Frank Kratovil, Jr. (MD-01)

Kratovil spent approximately $15K in district office rent for the quarter. One large expenditure was over $18K in June to American Direct Mail. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02)

Ruppersberger is paying Onstar memberships in his expenses as well as a significant amount  (over $26K for just one quarter) of rent to COPT. There is also a new purchase of nearly $6700 in furniture for the quarter. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

John P. Sarbanes (MD-03)

District office rent payments to the H. Adams Limited Partnership are approaching $16K for the quarter. There is one large printing bill totaling over $25,000. There are home security system expenses itemized as well. One curious thing is a payment for web and email services to Liberty Concepts. As far as I know, the House has its own email servers and its own web servers for members to use. I’m curious what the $2,000 to them for this quarter actually went for. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Donna Edwards (MD-04)

Edwards has probably the longest itemized list so it would take further research to find any patterns or trends. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Steny Hoyer (MD-05)

Reports from earlier this week indicated Hoyer spent $1,561 on bottled water alone this quarter. Cities across the country have been banning purchases of bottled water since the U.S. Council of Mayors endorsed such measures in 2007 as away to limit the environmental impact the plastic bottles have. Maryland bans on bottled water include Takoma Park and the University of Maryland. I seem to remember a proposed ban in Baltimore City and/or Annapolis as well.

There are also over $25K in district office rental expenses for the quarter.

One example of where the money goes is in an August event. Hoyer spent $5379.66 on food and beverage expenses just to Middleton Hall. There was also $400 in space rentals paid to Middleton Hall. On August 28, Hoyer hosted a Women’s Equality Day Luncheon at the hall. The featured speaker was HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The number of attendees is not listed anywhere and other expenses itemized on the report are likely also associated with this event. The banquest menu for the venue indicates a basic price of $22.99 a person (not including taxes or gratuities.)

You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06)

Bartlett spent an estimated $16K+ in district office rent for the quarter. His office also used Fireside21 for web and internet services in addition to the in-house services provided on the Hill. You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Elijah Cummings (MD-07)

Cummings broke the $1 million mark for the year in just 3 quarters. Cummings spent just over $20K in the 3rd Quarter alone on district office rent. His largest food and beverage expense for 3rd quarter was approximately $3900 spent at Morgan State in June.

You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

Chris Van Hollen (MD-08)

Van Hollen spent just under $22K in district office rent for the quarter. Fireside21 also has been paid by Van Hollen.You can go to the PDF of the full report here to look at the itemized expenses yourself.

UPDATE

Bryan Sears wrote on this topic and received a reply from Sarbanes’ office:

Makeda Scott, communications director for Rep. John Sarbanes called at 4:30 p.m. to explain the “home security expenses” referenced on Insidecharmcity.com.

“It’s actually for security for the front door of the district office in Towson,” Scott said.

Press Release of Senator Cardin
CARDIN, O’MALLEY, CUMMINGS, VAN HOLLEN AND REGIONAL PARTNERS DETAIL NEW LEGISLATION TO RESTORE THE CHESAPEAKE WATERSHED

Amendment to the Clean Water Act bolsters clean-up efforts with $1.5 billion in new grant authority and strong enforcement

Contact: Sue Walitsky: 202-224-4524
Monday, October 19, 2009

Click here for associated multimedia.
Annapolis, MD – Standing steps from the shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park, U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), joined with Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-7), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-8), and Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant who represented Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Chair of the Bay Program’s Executive Council, to outline the details of federal legislation to greatly expand federal resources available for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Also participating in today’s announcement were National Wildlife Federation’s Tony Caligiuri, a co-chair of the 103-group strong Chesapeake Bay Watershed Coalition, and Luke Brubaker, owner of Brubaker Farms of Mt. Joy, PA.

The Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Act of 2009, which will be introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Cardin with original co-sponsor Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program and gives state and local governments of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed expanded authority, $1.5 billion in new grant authorization, and strong new enforcement tools, to help restore the Bay’s health. Congressman Cummings plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives later this week.

“Today we take a major step forward in writing the next chapter in the history of one of America’s most cherished and celebrated bodies of water – the Chesapeake Bay. In developing this important legislation, we listened carefully to our watershed partners, our watermen, our farmers, and others whose livelihood depends on a viable Chesapeake. The result is a robust plan that will put us on a realistic but aggressive path to restoring the Bay to a healthy state that can sustain native fish, wildlife, farmland, and our regional economy,” said Senator Cardin, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee.

“We must do all we can to protect our natural resources, particularly Maryland’s treasured Chesapeake Bay,” said Governor O’Malley. “Senator Cardin’s leadership on this issue is exemplary, and this bill will bring a new level of accountability and efficiency to our clean-up efforts in order to restore the Bay for future generations of Marylanders.”

“It is my pleasure to sponsor the bill complementing Senator Cardin’s in the House. The Chesapeake Bay is the dominant natural feature and natural resource in our area and every effort we can put forth, toward cleaning and restoring the waters of the Bay, is critical. The efforts in this bill to create an equitable reduction of pollution will help achieve that goal by our target date of 2025,” said Congressman Cummings. “I often say that our children are the living messages we send to a future we will never see. This cleanup effort will be our message to those children. We cared enough about their future to ensure a cleaner, more pristine environment in which they could live.”

“The Chesapeake Bay is the most studied body of water in the world. As a result, we know what the problem is, where it comes from, and what we need to do to correct it. Yet we continue to devise restoration plans and consistently fail to adhere to them. To really have a meaningful impact on the Bay we must have the resolve to take aggressive action. This legislation provides both the carrots and the sticks that will enable us to meet our goals, and I strongly endorse it and applaud my colleagues for their work,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

“The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure – and Maryland’s greatest natural resource. For 20 years, I’ve been fighting to restore the health of the Bay. This legislation will ensure accountability and efficiency as we speed Bay clean-up, and help bring us closer to all we’ve worked for – a brighter day for the Bay. I will always fight for the Bay and the lives and livelihoods that depend on it,” Senator Mikulski said.

“I’m proud of what the Chesapeake Bay Program partners have accomplished in the past year — including setting aggressive two-year milestones to accelerate our progress in improving the health of Bay waters and committing to completing our restoration efforts by no later than 2025,” said Governor Kaine. “I applaud Senator Cardin’s leadership on this legislation and his willingness to work so closely with the Commonwealth. This bill will take our collective Bay restoration effort to the next level by holding states accountable for progress — while providing new tools to accomplish our clean-up goals in the process.”

With generous federal assistance, states will have the ability to set and meet enforceable targets of success by 2025. The bill also establishes a flexible pollution trading program that is designed to lower compliance costs while also providing Bay watershed farmers with added financial incentives to implement conservation practices on their lands. In addition, the bill puts the force of law behind a recent Executive Order from President Obama that requires every federal department to work toward Bay restoration.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America, with a length of 200 miles and 11,684 miles of tidal shoreline, more than the entire U.S. West Coast. About 100,000 streams and rivers thread through the Chesapeake’s 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to almost 17 million people across Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Chesapeake Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals.

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(Continue reading…)

Cummings release

PRESS RELEASE

MEDIA ADVISORY September 18, 2009 Contact: Paul Kincaid 202.225.4289 or 202.225.4025 Trudy Perkins 410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641

Cummings Corrects Media Reports of Thursday Evening Vote News stories, including wire copy, stating that House of Representatives voted to strip, or to continue, funding ACORN are incorrect.

(Washington, DC) – This advisory is intended to correct misleading stories filed Thursday. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings did, in fact, not vote to fund ACORN on Thursday. The Congressman voted no on a “Motion to Recommit,” related to HR 3221, the single largest improvement to student loan programs in the history of the United States. The motion was a procedural stunt, used by Republicans. Rep. Issa attached an amendment to the bill and then returned it immediately to the floor. The amendment was to strip ACORN funding only from the bill at hand. A YEA vote returned the bill WITH the amendment; a NO vote returned the bill WITHOUT the amendment. This bill improves access to Perkins Loans, Pell Grants and other higher education assistance, there was no funding for ACORN in the bill. The Motion was a completely pointless procedural trick, designed to create a story that Representatives voting against it voted to approve ACORN funding. There is no truth to that story. This bill would not have funded ACORN, regardless of the vote on the motion. Now, the facts: Congressman Cummings issued a statement earlier this week: “I am aware of the issues faced by ACORN in the Baltimore and Washington areas, and the hidden camera footage obtained by a conservative web site. Obviously, mistakes were made by workers employed by the ACORN organization. Though the employees responsible have been dealt with, ACORN must be responsible for employee actions. If a law similar to that approved by the Senate were to be voted on by the House, I would have no choice but to vote yes, stripping Federal funding from ACORN. However, it is important to realize that ACORN does much good work, helping low-income families find affordable housing, file their taxes and providing other services that are otherwise unavailable. It is important for ACORN to change their management style, to provide more structure, stricter rules for employees, and a more consistent set of best practices. This will enable them to regain the public trust and support of their mission, helping those left in our nation’s shadows.” Simply put, Congressman Cummings voted against wasting time while important issues like healthcare reform and creating new jobs still lie before the Congress. Because there was no funding in the bill, this was not the same as the Senate vote. The motion and the amendment were approved. This stripped NO funding from ACORN. This misunderstanding aside, Congressman Cummings was proud to vote for the largest investment in aid to help students and families pay for college in history — and at no cost to taxpayers. This bill is a major step forward in President Obama’s initiative to make sure America once again leads the world in college graduates by 2020. It will reform the system of federal student loans to save the taxpayers $87 billion and will direct $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending. The bill changes the way the student loan system functions by originating new loans through the government’s Direct Loan program, but will maintain competition among private lenders and non-profits to provide top-notch customer service for student borrowers. This simple change will make college loans more reliable for students and families — and ensure that loans operate in the best interests of borrowers by reducing many of the potential conflicts of interest that exist in the current loan system. If you have further questions about the bill, or the non-existent ACORN funding, you may reach Paul Kincaid at paul.kincaid@mail.house.gov. ###

Cummings release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2009

Contact:
Jennifer Kohl
202.225.4289 or 202.225.4025
Trudy Perkins
410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641

Cummings Statement on Need for A Public Option

Baltimore, Md.— Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings released the following statement reiterating his support of a public option in any health care reform legislation:

“Health care reform is one of the greatest and most important legislative decisions of our lifetime, and we cannot afford to get it wrong. We must move quickly to fix the broken health care system, but we must also be sure that we don’t allow politics and lobbyists to manipulate this bill into something that does not meet the standards that the American people deserve. We must be sure that we have legislation that includes a public option—it would be unfair to require all Americans to purchase health insurance without the guarantee of an affordable option provided by true competition.

“The public option is based on the same fundamental principle upon which our entire nation was built: competition. A competitive environment will put an end to the practices that have left so many families with outrageous medical bills and substandard medical care while leaving insurance company executives with fat wallets. The public option will ensure that companies provide Americans with quality, affordable plans that are based on common sense and recommendations of doctors and other medical experts.

“We only have one opportunity to get this legislation right, and we must stand strong together and fight for reform that will truly make a difference. This is simply too important to make concessions that will fundamentally alter the composition and effectiveness of the bill. President Obama has emphasized the importance of the public option in the past, and we cannot afford to drop such a critical component of reform in favor of another option that isn’t guaranteed to make any significant difference in the status quo.

“The status quo hurts every single individual in this country, whether it’s the breast cancer survivor or asthmatic child who can’t get coverage because of a pre-existing condition, the family who simply can’t afford the skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs and premiums, or the millions of the insured who each pay an extra $1,100 in premiums to compensate for the costs of the uninsured. Every day, additional Americans lose their health insurance or are denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Families are driven to bankruptcy because of medical bills. Children cannot see doctors when they get sick. Employers are forced to leave their employees without coverage because they just can’t afford the costs. The need for health care reform—with a public option—is clear.”

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