Veteran Rep. Charles Rangel Faces Rebuke Before Peers

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2010 — -- Veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, who was found guilty of multiple ethics violations this week, is facing the U.S. Congress' most stringent punishment short of expulsion -- a formal censure, or oral rebuke, on the floor of the House.

The House Ethics Committee voted 9 to 1 Thursday to recommend Rangel be censured and forced to pay restitution on unpaid taxes for his vacation home in the Dominican Republic. It was only the fourth time in committee history that a penalty of censure had been imposed.

"We have worked hard together in this matter in a way that has been actually quite wrenching," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who chaired the committee of five Republicans and five Democrats. "We are satisfied to be concluded."

The full House must now vote -- likely after Thanksgiving -- on whether to approve the penalty or impose a different one.

If a simple majority affirms the committee's recommended penalty, Rangel, 80, would then be forced to appear in the well of the House, where members stand when they address the chamber, and hear the charges against him read by the speaker of the House.

The recommended punishment of censure is a remarkable fall from grace for a 20-term congressman, who once authored the country's tax laws as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and would be a humiliating stain on his storied legacy.

Rangel pleaded with his peers Thursday not to let the two-and-a-half year ethics ordeal color his 40 years of public service.

"There's no way to stretch this that I'm a corrupted individual," he said, fighting back tears. "There's no excuse for my behavior and there was no intent for me ever to go beyond what was given to me as a salary. I never attempted to enrich myself. And I walk away no matter what your decision, grateful that I had this opportunity to serve."