GOP, citing ethics, calls for key House chairman to step down
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/07/art.rangel.gi.jpg caption="Congressional Republicans intensified their calls Wednesday for Chairman Charlie Rangel of New York to resign his post."]
Lisa Desjardin
CNN Radio
Congressional Republicans intensified their calls Wednesday for powerful House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel of New York to resign his post heading the committee, at least temporarily.
Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, introduced a motion that would have forced Rangel to step down during an ongoing ethics investigation into his finances and activities.
House Democrats responded by voting to shut off debate and instead send the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, where the matter has sat for a year. The move to effectively kill the resolution by sending it to the committee passed on a mostly party-line 246-153 vote.
The vote has no significant effect but shows Republicans are turning up the heat on Rangel and hoping to score political points by highlighting the ethics probe.
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Filed under: Ethics • Republicans |
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Rangel knows whether the accusations against him are true or not. If they are true he should step aside now and not waste tax money on a hearing. People's perception of him only is worse if he holds out and is really guilty.
If Rangel can't pay his taxes and lies about what all he is making and owns to get out of paying them then he doesn't need to be in the position in congress that he is. He is no better than anyone else. If one of us "normal" people did what he did we'd be sitting in jail right now!
Cindy...Ga.
I think Mr. Rangel is well aware the Dems need his vote for healhcare and won't step down at this time. However, it is absolutely shameful that ALL politicians are self-serving and hold themselves to a different standard. They make the laws and they break the laws. I wonder if the American people have ever truly experienced any pollitician who got into public office for the sole good of the people and our country.