THE EARMARK

As chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) must protect our nation’s revenue, so that every American, no matter how rich and powerful, contributes to the common good.

And if there’s one thing that angers Ways and Means chairmen, it’s people who don’t report income, receive gifts without paying the proper tariffs, and generally cheat the tax system. That’s why Chairman Rangel cast his gaze over Congress and fired the man who most sullies the reputation of his committee: Charlie Rangel.

Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York announced on Wednesday that he would temporarily step down from his powerful post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in an attempt to avert a politically bruising fight over permanently stripping the gavel from his hands.

In stripping Chairman Rangel of his duties, Chairman Rangel demonstrated he would have no tolerance for:

• Omitting hundreds of thousands of dollars in overseas vacation property from your tax returns.
• Omitting several million dollars in domestic assets from your tax returns.
• Attending lobbyist-funded junkets in the Caribbean, and neglecting to note them on your tax returns.

All of these are clear violations of federal law, leaving Chairman Rangel with no choice but to relieve Chairman Rangel of his duties.

With tax ethics properly addressed, Rangel can now turn his attention toward weeding out other Congressional impurities… including Congressmen who are overweight, Congressmen who wear their hair like Pat Riley, and Congressmen who talk like Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny.

Tags: Charlie Rangel