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 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 XXIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives provides, ‘‘A Member, Delegate, Resi-
dent 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, ac-
cording 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 
interest for more than a decade on a mortgage extended 
to him to buy a villa at a beachfront resort in the Domin-
ican 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, hos-
pitality, 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; 
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Whereas Representative Rangel’s failure to report the afore-
mentioned gifts and income on federal, state and local 
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 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 Con-
duct announced on September 24, 2008, that it had es-
tablished 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 Con-
duct announced on December 9, 2008, that it had ex-
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panded the jurisdiction of the aforementioned investiga-
tive subcommittee to examine the allegations related to 
Representative Rangel’s involvement with Nabors Indus-
tries; 
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 as-
sets, tens of thousands of dollars in investment income, 
and his ownership of two pieces of property in New Jer-
sey; 
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 pre-
viously 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 re-
port at least $500,000 in assets on his 2007 Congres-
sional 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 re-
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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 pub-
lic 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 re-
cent string in a series of financial bonanzas for Mr. Ran-
gel, who last year admitted he had forgotten about 
$75,000 in rental income on his Caribbean resort prop-
erty.’’; 
Whereas the same editorial also noted, ‘‘The congressman 
has failed to pay property taxes on two lots in New Jer-
sey, 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 resi-
dences’.’’; 
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 appar-
ently 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 al-
ready 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 im-
mense importance in Washington. Nonetheless, he has 
been busy of late revising and amending the record, back-
ing 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 Fed-
eral Credit Union; another was with Merrill Lynch—each 
valued between $250,000 and $500,000. He somehow ne-
glected 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 Com-
mittee while his ethical problems are investigated.’’; 
Whereas at various times during the past twelve months Rep-
resentative 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 state-
ments 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 Com-
mittee has completed its ongoing probes of allegations 
against him; 
Whereas Representative Rangel’s powerful position as chair-
man 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 legis-
lation 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 Sep-
tember 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 impro-
priety 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 relin-
quish their committee assignments after learning that 
each had become the subject of investigations into pos-
sible 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 Con-
gress in history’’ have held the House up to public ridi-
cule: 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, Rep-
resentative Rangel is hereby removed as chairman of the 
Committee on Ways and Means. 
Æ 
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