NX Express Posted November 19, 2010 Share #1 Posted November 19, 2010 WASHINGTON — The House ethics committee on Thursday recommended that Representative Charles B. Rangel be formally censured for ethical misconduct, the most serious punishment the House can mete out to a member short of expulsion. The 9-to-1 vote came after an emotional day and deliberations that the panel’s chairwoman, Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, called “wrenching.” At one point, Mr. Rangel struggled to compose himself as he pleaded for mercy from the panel. “I don’t know how much longer I have to live,” said Mr. Rangel, 80, his eyes watery and his voice quivering. But, he said, whatever time he has, he will spend it trying “to help people and thank God for what he’s given to me.” A censure would mark a momentous downfall for Mr. Rangel, a Democrat who for 40 years has represented Harlem, where he was born. As a decorated Korean War veteran and civil rights advocate, he became a combative and irrepressible voice for liberal causes and, in 2007, snared one of the most powerful positions in Congress, the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee. Censure requires approval by the full House, which plans to take up the matter after its Thanksgiving recess. If, as expected, censure is approved, Mr. Rangel will be the first member to receive such punishment since 1983, when two congressmen were rebuked for sexual misconduct with House pages. Mr. Rangel would be required to stand in the well of the House while the speaker reads a resolution rebuking him. Read more:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/nyregion/19rangel.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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