GOP fails to strip Rangel of chairmanship By Joseph Weber and S.A. Miller THE WASHINGTON TIMES
House Republicans came up short in a bid Wednesday to strip Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, of his post as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee because of mounting ethical problems. Texas Rep. John Carter, secretary of the House Republican Conference, presented a resolution for a full House vote calling for the removal of Mr. Rangel, at least until the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee concludes its probe. However, the Democratic-controlled chamber sidestepped the issue by instead referring the resolution to the ethics panel. The vote was 246-153, with two Democrats siding with the minority and 19 members voting "present." The ethics panel is investigating Mr. Rangel on allegations of tax evasion, federal disclosure violations and other possible violations, a probe the 20-term New York Democrat requested. But Republicans say the 16-month review has dragged on without resolution and that Democrats continue to shield Mr. Rangel despite the congressman's own acknowledgment - in revised disclosure statements last month - that his net worth was roughly $500,000 more, or nearly double, what he previously reported. Mr. Rangel was among those who voted in favor of referring the resolution to the committee. "That's where it belongs," he said. "It doesn't belong on the floor." The Ways and Means Committee is the House's chief tax-writing panel and also oversees the Internal Revenue Service. Reps. Gene Taylor and Travis W. Childers, both from Mississippi, were the two Democrats who voted against Mr. Rangel on Wednesday. A Republican aide said the vote showed support for Mr. Rangel was weakening. "These votes show that support for the Democratic leaders' decision to sweep this matter under the rug is starting to crack," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. Mr. Rangel faces allegations that he failed to report income from rental property in the Dominican Republic and at least $250,000 in a checking account, and that he used official congressional letterhead to solicit donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. bcoopert530 Well the Democrats have voted 246 to keep their bad apples in the leadership posts. But the next runner up is Pete Stark a loose cannon ultra left socialist from the Bay Area in Calif. In second thought he only lied about his taxes to the tune of 1 Million. He seemed to forget the income on a vacation rental villa he had since 88'. I wouldn't be surprised that he had a Swiss bank account and that why the IRS only got 4500 of the 50,000 tax cheats in their deal from UBS. There might have been too many names of the beloved ones from Washington D.C. capital that were also hiding income from the tax man. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180542/> Noman Hey Dems, where is your outcry against "corruption" now? Amazing how you choose to remain silent about it now that you are the ones in power. No surprise here. Hypocrits all! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180582/> Sigma2010 What a spectacle. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180583/> 2Confused This vote speaks volumes about the Democrat party. They are essentially condoning the illegal, immoral acts by Rangel and leaving him as the head of the Ways and Means Committee is unconscionable. Had he been a Republican, he would have been banned from Congress altogether, let alone removed from his post. The corruption in the Democrat party is breathtaking. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180584/> otter00 I sincerely hope that the ethics commission checks to confirm whether or not the Chairman maintains a bank account in the Dominican Republic into which the rental income on his villa there is deposited. If he does and the maximum value of that account exceeds $10,000 during any calendar year he is required to file a FBAR - Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Form TD F 90-22.1. The penalty for failure to file this report is 50% of the maximum value of foreign accounts each year that it is not filed. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180585/> patchadjian Why is it that the IRS will investigate, hound, fine and throw us in jail if we evade our taxes, but do nothing about tax cheats (Rangel, Daschle, Geitner...) who are supposed to be our public servants and upholding the law? Something is rotten and stinking in Washington and it's high time that it should be purged and sanitized before it destroys our once, great nation. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180595/> singer23 This tells all about Pelosi and the Democratic party. They are shameful and disgraceful! Vote them out when election time arrives! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180609/> kingfish55 With all of the corruption and money laundering by Rangel, watch him win his re-election by a landslide. That's how much the people in his district care about his cheating on the American people. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180621/> sirandrew Rangel will die of old age before the Democrats will complete the investigation. His body armor is not steel ,it is the black skin.The democrats are afraid of the Black backlash if they kick this bum out Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180624/> ssn042 You jackasses that keep reelecting these people ARE THE PROBLEM. If you had done anything close to what Charlie has done you're butt wouldn't see the light of day for 50 years. AND THIS IS THE GUY WHO WRITES THE TAX LAWS! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180637/> roush6 No surprise here, Democrats are notorious for circling the wagons to protect their own. Republicans are the only party with enough scruples to discard its' bad apples. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180672/> Bridgett I wish WE THE PEOPLE could vote on this issue. We have NO REPRESENTATIVES to vote for us. This is the most corrupt, dishonest, lying, cheating administration EVER in the history of the USA. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180705/> HKAg Democrat Party - the party of corruption. Reminds me of Rep Jefferson with 90K of frozen cash, stayed in office to complete his whole term and got reelected IIRC after that news broke. Imagine the press coverage if this were a Republican! It would be every day wall to wall. We need citizen legislators, term limits is our only tool to prevent professional politicians. Through that bum out now!! HK Ag Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180711/> stevedeery Cultue of Corruption Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180712/> JHardyM The "Swamp Monster" Hello Pelosi, here is some of the trash that your draining(?) has uncovered. When are you going to get rid of the scum? Boy it's nice to have an open and transparent Congress that we can be proud of. Get off your butt and get rid of these crooks! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180750/> cbreeze Charlie Rangel,..biggest thief in Wash, DC...and another reason why New York taxpayers continue to relocate to other States,....Crooked Politicians in New York are the "swine flu" of politics. !!! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180756/> soxconn In Banana Republics, ethics are determined by ruling elite. They are relative to the pocketbooks of that elite. Just take a look at Pelosi attempting to get the Navy to turn over Treasure Island to investors for $13.5 million when the Navy had an independent analysis that evaluated it at $230 million. Believe me when the economy turns south, these guys will collect their millions and head for a tax free shelter. Why else would Bill Clinton be ambassador to Haiti? Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180777/> GrannyRob ssn042 : You're right on! Fury at those who continue to elect these pieces of human garbage over and over is well earned and deserved. I wish them ill and have no sympathy for such idiots. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180800/> JHardyM Thanks GrannyRob,"Garbage" is much more discriptive that Swamp Monster and it also includes P, R, and O. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180806/> nujohn53 Washington - The city of Corruption! Change we can believe in? Time to boot these dirtbags bag to the sewer. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180818/> bandaid I think people are beginning to get the idea. It doesn't do much good to rant and rave about what is going on in Washington and around the country. It is time to let our votes speak for us. It is the ONLY thing, short of outright rioting and civil war, that the ordinary citizen can do about what beeyo and his party are doing to our country. Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180821/> rgbcwd It's a sad state of affairs when we have a tax cheat in charge of writing the tax legislation for the country. Shame on you Democrats and Nancy Pelosi. You only have yourselves to blame when you lose the next election. The American voters are not stupid, just hard to arouse. But we are aroused now! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180841/> singer23 What a disgrace Rangel is! What do you expect from people who thought OJ Simpson should have gotten away with murder. They supported Adam Clayton Powell Jr. for years, why wouldn't they support Rangel! We will never have an honest government as long as we have constituents voting for crooks! Why don't they try to find someone who is honest? Oh I forgot, this is America, one has to be a celebrity! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180850/> Best2U That's just par for the course with these Democrats. So much for transparency. I seriously hope the American people remember these Democratic senators come 2010 and 2012. This is what happens when a majority is in power and senators in the House and Senate has been in office way too long. People, isn't it time to vote these people out of office? Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180880/> DeltaT If he's guilty, he should get his due. ======================= On the other hand, if he has served 40 years in Congress, and is only worth $1 Million, a smart crook would have switched teams and joined the real CONs Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180883/> DeltaT "bandaid I think people are beginning to get the idea. It doesn't do much good to rant and rave about what is going on in Washington and around the country. It is time to let our votes speak for us. It is the ONLY thing, short of outright rioting and civil war, that the ordinary citizen can do about what beeyo and his party are doing to our country." ============================== I think we should protest being ripped of by the health insurance industry... Let's stage a real protest by refusing to pay premiums... lets have a real rally... the American way...... OOOOps... I forgot..... they'll cancel my insurance...... and my Sons Leukemia will be a "pre-existing condition" and I'll be refused insurance..... .... Too bad Son, it seems Americans can choose to protest, or they can choose to LIVE.... but not both....today just wasn't your day....... Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180888/> tinman1967 Mr. Rangel is a crook. Doesn't that make him highly qualified to serve in Congress? Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180934/> tinman1967 Term Limits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mark as offensive <http://www.washingtontimes.com/admin/offensivecontent/manage/add/10/180937/> << previous <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/08/house-gop-fails-to-strip-rangel-of-chairmanship/comments/?cpage=1>1 <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/08/house-gop-fails-to-strip-rangel-of-chairmanship/comments/?cpage=1>2next >> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
