Deeman3
02-26-2010, 10:48 AM
<span style="color: #FF0000"> If this was almost anyone else, he'd be gone or in jail by now. How corrupt have we become? This is not the first time, nor the third for him, and it has always been overlooked....</span>
WASHINGTON - Facing potential midterm election losses and a stuck-in-the-mud legislative program, Democrats can now add to their worries the ethics problems of chief House tax writer Rep. Charles Rangel.
The House ethics committee accused Rangel on Thursday of accepting corporate money for trips to Caribbean conferences in violation of House rules. The committee said it couldn't determine whether Rangel knew about the financing, but found that his staff did — and concluded Rangel was responsible for learning the truth.
Rangel's case is certain to raise questions of whether the 20-term lawmaker, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, can retain his post in an election year.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to speculate on Rangel's future and emphasized the Ethics Committee's finding that Rangel did not "willfully" break House rules.
"They did not take action against him," Pelosi said. "They just said he did not willfully break the rules. But we'll just see what happens next — what comes out of the Ethics Committee next."
The Ways and Means chairmanship is especially important this year, when Democrats are trying to overhaul the nation's health care system and Congress has to decide what to do about billions of dollars in tax cuts Americans at every income level have enjoyed for a decade — but are due to expire in December.
House Democrats have different opinions on whether Rangel should step down from the chairmanship of the committee, which originates not only tax laws but also benefit programs that now pay nearly half the costs for Americans' health care.
Rep. William Pascrell, a fellow Democrat from New Jersey and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said he thinks Rangel should continue his job as chairman.
"I think the congressman has acted appropriately, swiftly, decisively reducing, making changes in his staff," Pascrell said. "They should've informed him. From what I know they did not and if they did that will come out in the wash."
Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, also a Democrat, suggested that Rangel should "either step down or step aside until this is resolved."
WASHINGTON - Facing potential midterm election losses and a stuck-in-the-mud legislative program, Democrats can now add to their worries the ethics problems of chief House tax writer Rep. Charles Rangel.
The House ethics committee accused Rangel on Thursday of accepting corporate money for trips to Caribbean conferences in violation of House rules. The committee said it couldn't determine whether Rangel knew about the financing, but found that his staff did — and concluded Rangel was responsible for learning the truth.
Rangel's case is certain to raise questions of whether the 20-term lawmaker, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, can retain his post in an election year.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to speculate on Rangel's future and emphasized the Ethics Committee's finding that Rangel did not "willfully" break House rules.
"They did not take action against him," Pelosi said. "They just said he did not willfully break the rules. But we'll just see what happens next — what comes out of the Ethics Committee next."
The Ways and Means chairmanship is especially important this year, when Democrats are trying to overhaul the nation's health care system and Congress has to decide what to do about billions of dollars in tax cuts Americans at every income level have enjoyed for a decade — but are due to expire in December.
House Democrats have different opinions on whether Rangel should step down from the chairmanship of the committee, which originates not only tax laws but also benefit programs that now pay nearly half the costs for Americans' health care.
Rep. William Pascrell, a fellow Democrat from New Jersey and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said he thinks Rangel should continue his job as chairman.
"I think the congressman has acted appropriately, swiftly, decisively reducing, making changes in his staff," Pascrell said. "They should've informed him. From what I know they did not and if they did that will come out in the wash."
Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, also a Democrat, suggested that Rangel should "either step down or step aside until this is resolved."