Rangel Will Remain Chair Of Ways And Means Panel

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) will continue to be the nation's top tax-law writer, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

In a conference call with reporters, attorney Lanny Davis said the 19-term congresman "has not considered, nor has it ever been on the table that he would step aside" as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) last week asking her to remove Rangel as committee chair. The letter was sent only weeks after Republicans failed to pass a resolution publicly censuring Rangel because he had "dishonored himself and brought discredit to the House."

Pelosi had written Boehner back, saying, "Your unfair and intemperate attack on one of the most distinguished and beloved Members of the House... is curious in light of the number of Republican Members whose ethical behavior has been under serious question and on which you have remained silent. Surely you are aware that Chairman Rangel immediately requested a review of all allegations by the bipartisan Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, and has pledged his full cooperation."

Rangel is accused of inappropriately soliciting donations from businesses and foundations using the congressional letterhead. The contributions were for the Rangel Center at City College in New York. He has also come under fire for leasing four rent-controlled apartments for below-market rates. Rangel has moved out of one apartment he had been using as an office in violation of city and state regulations, and asked the House Ethics panel to determine if he had violated any rules.

But the lawmaker found himself in hot water again last week, when the New York Times reported that he had failed to include in his tax returns more than $75,000 in income from a villa at the Punta Cana Yacht Club in the Dominican Republic. Rangel reportedly bought the property in 1988.

Profits from the villa ranged from $7,600 in 1994 to $2,700 in 2004. Davis has said the lawmaker would likely make changes to his tax returns to include income from the villa.

On Monday, Rangel told the New York Daily News that he will be hiring a forensic accountant after discovering more inaccuracies in his tax returns from as far back as decades ago.