[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 805 Referred to Committee House (RTH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 805

           Raising a question of the privileges of the House.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 7, 2009

             Mr. Carter submitted the following resolution

                            October 7, 2009

   By motion of the House, referred to the Committee on Standards of 
                            Official Conduct

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
           Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Whereas the gentleman from New York, Charles B. Rangel, the fourth most senior 
        Member of the House of Representatives, serves as chairman of the House 
        Ways and Means Committee, a position of considerable power and influence 
        within the House of Representatives;
Whereas clause one of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
        provides, ``A Member, Delegate, Resident Commission, officer, or 
        employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner 
        that shall reflect creditably on the House.'';
Whereas The New York Times reported on September 5, 2008, that, ``Representative 
        Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a 
        villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never 
        reported it on his federal or state tax returns, according to a lawyer 
        for the congressman and documents from the resort.'';
Whereas in an article in the September 5, 2008, edition of The New York Times, 
        his attorney confirmed that Representative Rangel's annual congressional 
        Financial Disclosure statements failed to disclose the rental income 
        from his resort villa;
Whereas The New York Times reported on September 6, 2008, that, ``Representative 
        Charles B. Rangel paid no interest for more than a decade on a mortgage 
        extended to him to buy a villa at a beachfront resort in the Dominican 
        Republic, according to Mr. Rangel's lawyer and records from the resort. 
        The loan, which was extended to Mr. Rangel in 1988, was originally to be 
        paid back over seven years at a rate of 10.5 percent. But within two 
        years, interest on the loan was waived for Mr. Rangel.'';
Whereas clause 5(a)(2)(A) of House Rule 25 defines a gift as, ``. . . a 
        gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, 
        forbearance, or other item having monetary value'' and prohibits the 
        acceptance of such gifts except in limited circumstances;
Whereas Representative Rangel's acceptance of thousands of dollars in interest 
        forgiveness is a violation of the House gift ban;
Whereas Representative Rangel's failure to disclose the aforementioned gifts and 
        income on his Personal Financial Disclosure Statements violates House 
        rules and federal law;
Whereas Representative Rangel's failure to report the aforementioned gifts and 
        income on federal, state and local tax returns is a violation of the tax 
        laws of those jurisdictions;
Whereas the Committee on Ways and Means, which Representative Rangel chairs, has 
        jurisdiction over the United States Tax Code;
Whereas the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct first announced on 
        July 31, 2008, that it was reviewing allegations of misconduct by 
        Representative Rangel;
Whereas Roll Call newspaper reported on September 15, 2008, that, ``The 
        inconsistent reports are among myriad errors, discrepancies and 
        unexplained entries on Rangel's personal disclosure forms over the past 
        eight years that make it almost impossible to get a clear picture of the 
        Ways and Means chairman's financial dealings.'';
Whereas the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct announced on 
        September 24, 2008, that it had established an investigative 
        subcommittee in the matter of Representative Rangel;
Whereas after the Ethics Committee probe was underway, The New York Times 
        reported on November 24, 2008, that, ``Congressional records and 
        interviews show that Mr. Rangel was instrumental in preserving a 
        lucrative tax loophole that benefitted Nabors Industries, an oil 
        drilling company last year, while at the same time its chief executive 
        was pledging $1 million to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public 
        Service at C.C.N.Y.'';
Whereas the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct announced on 
        December 9, 2008, that it had expanded the jurisdiction of the 
        aforementioned investigative subcommittee to examine the allegations 
        related to Representative Rangel's involvement with Nabors Industries;
Whereas since then, further serious allegations of improper and potentially 
        illegal conduct by Representative Rangel have surfaced;
Whereas during the recently completed August district work period, 
        Representative Rangel acknowledged his failure to publicly disclose at 
        least half a million dollars in cash assets, tens of thousands of 
        dollars in investment income, and his ownership of two pieces of 
        property in New Jersey;
Whereas corrected financial disclosure statements filed by Representative Rangel 
        on August 12, 2009, now reveal his net worth to be nearly twice as much 
        as he had previously revealed;
Whereas The New York Times newspaper reported on August 26, 2009, that, ``United 
        States Representative Charles B. Rangel, whose personal finances and 
        fund raising are the subject of two House ethics investigations, failed 
        to report at least $500,000 in assets on his 2007 Congressional 
        disclosure form, according to an amended report he filed this month. 
        Among the dozen newly disclosed holdings revealed in the amended forms 
        are a checking account at a federal credit union with a balance between 
        $250,000 and $500,000; three vacant lots in Glassboro, N.J., valued at a 
        total of $1,000 to $15,000; and stock in PepsiCo worth between $15,000 
        and $50,000.'';
Whereas Roll Call newspaper reported on August 25, 2009, that Representative 
        Rangel's corrected filings also revealed ``at least $250,001 in a fund 
        called ML Allianz Global Investors Consults Diversified Port III.'';
Whereas the aforementioned Roll Call story reported that ``Rangel also 
        originally misreported that his investments in 2007 netted him $6,511-
        $17,950 in dividends, capital gains and rental income. In his revised 
        filing, that range jumped to between $29,220 and $81,200.'';
Whereas these most recent revelations by Representative Rangel have resulted in 
        heightened national news media coverage of alleged impropriety and 
        potentially criminal conduct by one of the most senior Members of the 
        House;
Whereas an editorial in The Washington Times newspaper on September 1, 2009, 
        noted, ``Charlie Rangel is one lucky guy. The Democratic congressman 
        from Harlem, N.Y., just discovered that his net wealth is twice what he 
        thought. That's a pretty good day at the office for a public servant. 
        Mr. Rangel also realized that he made tens of thousands of dollars more 
        than he reported in many different years over the past decade. This is 
        the most recent string in a series of financial bonanzas for Mr. Rangel, 
        who last year admitted he had forgotten about $75,000 in rental income 
        on his Caribbean resort property.'';
Whereas the same editorial also noted, ``The congressman has failed to pay 
        property taxes on two lots in New Jersey, according to the New York 
        Post. That's not all. In order to avoid taxes and get lower mortgage 
        rates, Mr. Rangel simultaneously claimed three `primary residences'.'';
Whereas an editorial in the September 17, 2009, edition of the New Haven 
        Register stated, ``The ethics and tax complaints keep piling up against 
        U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, who as chairman of the House Ways and Means 
        Committee controls writing of the nation's tax laws. The New York 
        Democrat may write those laws, but he apparently feels no obligation to 
        obey them. The investigation appears to have a long way to go. The man 
        who is in charge of writing the nation's tax laws doesn't pay his 
        federal income or local property taxes. He has such a poor grasp of his 
        own finances that he neglects to list half his assets on a disclosure 
        form intended to keep members of Congress accountable and honest. We can 
        already hear the defense of the next tax deadbeat called into court. If 
        Charlie Rangel doesn't have to pay his taxes, why should I?'';
Whereas an article in The Washington Post on September 15, 2009, stated, 
        ``Rangel is now the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and a 
        man of immense importance in Washington. Nonetheless, he has been busy 
        of late revising and amending the record, backing and filling, using 
        buckets of Wite-Out as he discovers or remembers properties he has owned 
        in New York, New Jersey, Florida, the Dominican Republic and God only 
        knows where else. Rangel recently even discovered bank accounts that no 
        one in the world, apparently including him, knew he had. One was with 
        the Congressional Federal Credit Union; another was with Merrill Lynch--
        each valued between $250,000 and $500,000. He somehow neglected to 
        mention these accounts on his congressional disclosure forms, which 
        means, if you can believe it, that when he signed the forms, he did not 
        notice that maybe $1 million was missing. Someone ought to check the 
        lighting in his office.'';
Whereas the same article in The Washington Post stated, ``There is something 
        wrong with Charlie Rangel. Either he did not notice that he was worth 
        about twice as much as he said he was--which is downright worrisome in a 
        congressional leader--or he thinks he's above the law, which is 
        downright worrisome in a congressional leader.'';
Whereas it has been more than one year since an editorial in The New York Times 
        on September 15, 2008, stated, ``Mounting embarrassment for taxpayers 
        and Congress makes it imperative that Representative Charles Rangel step 
        aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee while his ethical 
        problems are investigated.'';
Whereas at various times during the past twelve months Representative Rangel and 
        Speaker Pelosi have made public statements asserting that the ongoing 
        investigation of Representative Rangel by the Committee on Standards of 
        Official Conduct would soon be concluded;
Whereas the Committee has to date issued no public statements concerning any 
        expected time line for conducting or concluding its investigation of 
        Representative Rangel;
Whereas major daily newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington 
        Post, and The New York Post have called for Representative Rangel's 
        removal from his powerful position at least until the House Ethics 
        Committee has completed its ongoing probes of allegations against him;
Whereas Representative Rangel's powerful position as chairman permits him to 
        participate in high level decisions about critically important issues 
        such as reform of the Nation's health care system;
Whereas an October 1, 2009, story in The New York Times stated, ``Mr. Rangel is 
        one of a small group of House leaders now meeting almost daily behind 
        closed doors with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to distill from the three bills 
        produced in separate committees the one package that will go to the 
        House floor.'';
Whereas an Associated Press story on September 20, 2009, stated, ``The ethics 
        committee's investigation of Rangel is almost a year old. It's as much a 
        problem for House Democratic leaders as for Rangel himself. Later this 
        year, when Rangel's committee considers estate tax legislation that 
        could expand into other matters, the headlines will be a version of this 
        message: `Tax scofflaw presiding over tax changes.''';
Whereas the New York Post newspaper reported on September 2, 2009, that, ``A 
        review of property records for the borough of Glassboro revealed at 
        least six tax liens levied against Rangel's property during the past 16 
        years. Just last year, two separate liens were levied against both 
        properties owned by Rangel.'';
Whereas, on May 24, 2006, then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cited ``high ethical 
        standards'' in a letter to former Representative William Jefferson 
        asking that he resign his seat on the Committee on Ways and Means in 
        light of ongoing investigations into alleged financial impropriety by 
        Representative Jefferson;
Whereas Speaker Pelosi took the aforementioned action while Representative 
        Jefferson was under investigation and the subject of considerable 
        controversy in the news media, but prior to any indictment;
Whereas in April of 2007, Republican Leader John Boehner successfully urged 
        several Republican Members to relinquish their committee assignments 
        after learning that each had become the subject of investigations into 
        possible criminal activity;
Whereas Leader Boehner took the aforementioned actions while the Members in 
        question were under investigation and the subjects of widespread media 
        controversy, but prior to any indictments; and
Whereas in the wake of the most recent allegations against Representative Rangel 
        various editorials and articles in major national newspapers criticizing 
        Speaker Pelosi's continued refusal to remove Representative Rangel as 
        chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means after promising she would 
        preside over ``the most ethical Congress in history'' have held the 
        House up to public ridicule: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution and pending 
completion of the investigation into his affairs by the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct, Representative Rangel is hereby removed 
as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.
                                 <all>