IV 

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 


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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; 


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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 exVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:26 Oct 10, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR805.RTH HR805

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panded 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 reVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:26 Oct 10, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR805.RTH HR805

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vealed ‘‘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 


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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.’’; 


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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; 


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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; 


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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 

1 Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution and 

2 pending completion of the investigation into his affairs by 

3 the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Rep4 resentative Rangel is hereby removed as chairman of the 

5 Committee on Ways and Means. 

Æ 


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