[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1128-H1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House and offer the resolution as noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 143

       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,
       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.

                              {time}  1915

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to lay on the 
table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to lay on the table will be followed by 5-
minute votes on motions to suspend the rules with regard to House 
Resolution 128, by the yeas and nays, and House Resolution 134, by the 
yeas and nays.

[[Page H1129]]

  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 242, 
nays 157, answered ``present'' 16, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 57]

                               YEAS--242

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Bright
     Brown, Corrine
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Childers
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Fudge
     Giffords
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Griffith
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Kind
     King (NY)
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murtha
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Paul
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor
     Teague
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wilson (OH)
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)

                               NAYS--157

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachus
     Barton (TX)
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Boehner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Deal (GA)
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Graves
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Harper
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hoekstra
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan (OH)
     King (IA)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy, Tim
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Radanovich
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden
     Wamp
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--16

     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett
     Bonner
     Burton (IN)
     Butterfield
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Conaway
     Dent
     Green, Gene
     Hastings (WA)
     Kline (MN)
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Poe (TX)
     Scott (VA)
     Welch

                             NOT VOTING--17

     Bachmann
     Berkley
     Blunt
     Campbell
     Frank (MA)
     Granger
     Grijalva
     Harman
     Hinojosa
     Johnson (IL)
     Putnam
     Schakowsky
     Solis (CA)
     Stark
     Sutton
     Tiberi
     Wexler


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Two minutes remain in this 
vote.

                              {time}  1938

  Mr. PAUL changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``present.''
  Messrs. CONAWAY, BURTON of Indiana and POE of Texas changed their 
vote from ``nay'' to ``present.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________