IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 143 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 
Mr. CARTER submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the table 
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 Rep-
resentatives, 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 23 of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives provides ‘‘A Member, Delegate, Resident 
Commission, officer, or employee of the House shall con-
duct 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 
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•HRES 143 LTH 
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 Rep-
resentative Rangel’s annual congressional Financial Dis-
closure 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 in-
terest for more than a decade on a mortgage extended to 
him to buy a villa at a beachfront resort in the Domini-
can 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, hospi-
tality, 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 afore-
mentioned gifts and income on his Personal Financial 
Disclosure Statements violates House rules and Federal 
law; 
Whereas Representative Rangel’s failure to report the afore-
mentioned gifts and income on Federal, State, and local 
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•HRES 143 LTH 
tax returns is a violation of the tax laws of those jurisdic-
tions; 
Whereas the Committee on Ways and Means, which Rep-
resentative Rangel chairs, has jurisdiction over the 
United States Tax Code; 
Whereas the House Committee on Standards of Official Con-
duct first announced on July 31, 2008, that it was re-
viewing allegations of misconduct by Representative Ran-
gel; 
Whereas The House Committee on Standards of Official Con-
duct announced on September 24, 2008, that it had es-
tablished an investigative subcommittee in the matter of 
Representative Rangel; 
Whereas The New York Times reported on November 24, 
2008, that ‘‘Congressional records and interviews show 
that Mr. Rangel was instrumental in preserving a lucra-
tive 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.’’; 
Whereas the House Committee on Standards of Official Con-
duct announced on December 9, 2008, that it had ex-
panded the jurisdiction of the aforementioned investiga-
tive subcommittee to examine the allegations related to 
Representative Rangel’s involvement with Nabors Indus-
tries; 
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 
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