[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H998-H999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING A QUESTION OF THE 
                        PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I 
hereby notify the House of my intention to offer a resolution as a 
question of the privileges of the House.
  The form of my resolution is as follows:

       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; and,
       Whereas, clause one of rule 23 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.''; and,
       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; and,
       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.''; and,
       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; and,
       Whereas, Representative Rangel's acceptance of thousands of 
     dollars in interest forgiveness is a violation of the House 
     gift ban; and,
       Whereas, Representative Rangel's failure to disclose the 
     aforementioned gifts and income on his Personal Financial 
     Disclosure Statements violates House rules and federal law; 
     and,
       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; and,
       Whereas, the Committee on Ways and Means, which 
     Representative Rangel chairs, has jurisdiction over the 
     United States Tax Code; and,
       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; 
     and,
       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; and,
       Whereas, 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 benefited [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.''; and,
       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; 
     and,
       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.''; and,
       Whereas, Roll Call newspaper reported on September 16, 2008 
     that, ``Rangel said he would hire a `forensic accountant' to 
     review all of his disclosure forms going back 20 years, and 
     to provide a report to the House Committee on Standards of 
     Official Conduct, which Rangel said will then make public.''; 
     and,
       Whereas, nearly five months after Representative Rangel 
     pledged to provide a public forensic accounting of his tax 
     and federal financial disclosure records, he has failed to do 
     so; and,
       Whereas, 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.''; and,
       Whereas, on May 24, 2006, then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi 
     cited ``high ethical standards'' in a letter to 
     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, by the conduct giving rise to this resolution, 
     Representative Charles B. Rangel has dishonored himself and 
     brought discredit to the House; and,

[[Page H999]]

       Therefore, be it Resolved, 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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under rule IX, a resolution offered from the 
floor by a Member other than the majority leader or the minority leader 
as a question of the privileges of the House has immediate precedence 
only at a time designated by the Chair within 2 legislative days after 
the resolution is properly noticed.
  Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the 
gentleman from Texas will appear in the Record at this point.
  The Chair will not at this point determine whether the resolution 
constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at 
the time designated for consideration of the resolution.

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