Thread: House Kills Resolution to Oust Rangel -Chair of Tax-Commitee

House Kills Resolution to Oust Rangel From Chair of Tax-Writing Committee

House Republicans on Wednesday attempted to pass a resolution to oust Rep. Charles Rangel from his chairmanship of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee following the reading of a long and stinging list of alleged wrongdoing.

FOXNews.com

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Pay your taxes or step down.

That's the message House Republicans are sending to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and subject of a major ethics probe into alleged tax evasion and other violations.

House Republicans on Wednesday tried to pass a resolution to oust Rangel from his chairmanship following the reading of a long and stinging list of alleged wrongdoing. The measure stemmed from a major ethics probe into Rangel's alleged failure to pay his taxes and disclose income on multiple properties -- as much as $1.3 million.

But House Democrats were quick to strike down the measure to remove Rangel, who represents New York's Harlem district, from his post. House Republicans refused to accept defeat of the resolution, and asked for a second recorded vote following the first. The reading of the resolution was interrupted several times, and at one point was challenged by Democrats before being put to a vote.

A representative from Rangel's office on Wednesday blasted the resolution as a "highly partisan effort."

"Let's look at this resolution for what it really is -- a highly partisan effort designed to undermine the important work in Congress on health care reform," the representative, who declined to be named, told FOX News.

"It's also an attempt to circumvent House rules, which provide for a comprehensive, bipartisan ethics committee process for reviewing matters such as these," the Rangel aide said. "The congressman himself initiated the request for the committee to review the issues and the members should let the process work as established by the rules of the House."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the resolution's defeat is "the latest example of Speaker Pelosi breaking her promise to have the most 'open and ethical' Congress in history."

"Instead of holding Chairman Rangel accountable for his actions, House Democrats are once again circling the wagons and demonstrating their loyalty to a leader who faces serious questions about his official conduct," Boehner said in a statement.

Wednesday's vote came as reports emerge that Rangel funneled a $3 million earmark -- included in the massive Defense Appropriations Bill -- to City College of New York to fund research on materials used to protect Army vehicles from attack.

Critics charge that the powerful chairman of the tax-writing committee -- arguably the most influential in Congress -- should step down amid growing allegations and investigations into possible ethics violations.

Rangel, who has served in the House for nearly 40 years, reportedly failed to report as much as $1.3 million in income from 2002 to 2006. In 2008, the New York Post reported that Rangel failed to disclose $75,000 in rental income.

In June 2009, the House Ethics Subcommittee opened a probe of Rangel's trips to conferences in the Caribbean, and in August Rangel disclosed more than $500,000 in previously unreported assets.

"These are glaring tax violations and he has paid no penalties or interest," said John Stone, a spokesman for Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, who is leading the effort to oust Rangel from his post.

"It's setting up a double standard," said Stone. "The average American gets slapped with fines and possible jail time, while the rich and powerful can get off 'scot-free.'

"He's chair of the very committee that oversees internal revenue of the tax code. He simply cannot serve with this massive question and these constantly expanding investigations," Stone continued.

Of the $3 million earmark directed to City College, he said, "This is a prime example of why he should step down as chair until these ethics questions are answered."

On Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said, "The [Ethics] Committee is doing its work. We will wait for its report."

"To do anything else would be premature. I, or someone, will move to table the resolution," Hoyer told reporters.

Click here to read a copy of the resolution.

FOX News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10 ... tee-chair/

Angles on Rangel -- the final vote

By: David Freddoso
Commentary Staff Writer
10/07/09 2:09 PM EDT

House Democrats have successfully killed a privileged resolution by Rep. John Carter, R-Tex., which called for the removal of an alleged tax evader from the House's top tax post, pending an ethics investigation.

The vote on whether to oust Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. as chairman of Ways and Means fell largely along party lines, with a final tally of 246-153, with 19 members voting "present" and 14 not voting.

The final vote is here. The House buried the resolution by shuffling it off to the Ethics Committee.

Rangel is faced with several ethics problems.

He failed to report hundreds of thousands in assets on his required Congressional disclosure forms, and also failed to report some income and underreported other income. He allegedly failed to pay federal income taxes on rental income from his beach home in the Dominican Republic, in addition to certain property taxes.

Rangel has also come under fire for allegedly shaking down an oil company's CEO for donations to an educational institution named after Rangel, as well as his possession of an inordinate number of prized rent-control apartments in New York City.

Republicans who voted to leave Rangel alone were Peter King, R-N.Y., Tim Murphy, R-Pa., Ron Paul, R-Tex., Walter Jones, R-N.C., Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Don Young, R-Alaska.

Democrats Gene Taylor and Travis Childers, both of Mississippi, crossed over to vote against Rangel.

Here is a list of members who voted "present":

Jo Bonner, R-Ala.
Dan Burton, R-Ind.
G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C.
Cathy Castor, D-Fla.
Ben Chandler, D-Ky.
Mike Conaway, R-Tex.
Charlie Dent, R-Pa.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.
Gene Green, D-Tex.
Gregg Harper, R-Miss.
Doc Hastings, R-Wash.
Tom Latham, R-Iowa
Mike McCaul, R-Tex.
Sue Myrick, R-N.C.
Ted Poe, R-Tex.
Mike Quigley, D-Ill.
Mike Simpson, R-Idaho
Greg Walden, R-Ore.
Peter Welch, D-Vt.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opini ... 86442.html

It's business as usual with these corporate criminals. Nobody should be at all surprised by this.

THE CORRUPTION RUNS DEEP!!!

Its a free for all , as long as you are a political elite , illegal alien , or a hollywood idol .
There are no suprises left from the Left , or are there?
What a bunck of sewage . ( can I say that? )

Rangel is corrupt. Everyone know it. He is just as corrupt as that guy Jefferson who had 80,000 in his freezer. Democrats just dont think honesty and morals are important.

Well, I guess we don't have to pay taxes and/or claim our income if the top guy in the Ways and Means Rangel, is free not to pay his taxes.

I saw this on C-Span and they had Rangel dead to rights. This is a disgusting display of corruption.


I am more convinced than ever that we must get ALL of the Democrats out of office and any Republicans that didn't vote against Rangel.

Peter King, R-N.Y., Ron Paul, R-Tex., Walter Jones, R-N.C., Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.,

These four names blow me away. no way in my right mind would i think these would have voted to let Rangel stay.

Im NOT sure i understand the reasoning of the 17 who voted PRESENT, either. gonna have to make phone calls tomorrow and ask for answers