Charlie Rangel Censured by the House, 333 to 79

For the first time in nearly three decades, the House censured one of its members Thursday, voting 333 to 79 to formally punish Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) for reflecting poorly on the institution and bringing discredit to the House. Seventy-seven Democrats and two Republicans -- Reps. Peter King and Don Young -- voted against.

The House also voted earlier, 146 to 257, to reject a lesser punishment of reprimand for the congressman.

A censure is the second-most severe punishment that the House can levy against a member short of expulsion. The House has censured just 22 members in its two-century history, most recently in 1983 when Reps. Daniel Crane (R-Ill.) and Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) were ensnared in a sex scandal involving House pages.

In November, the House ethics committee found Rangel guilty of 11 violations of House rules related to his failure to report rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic, using a rent-controlled apartment in New York for campaign activities, and of using congressional stationery for raising funds for the City College of New York, which is building a center for disadvantaged youth named after the congressman.

Before the House voted Thursday, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chairwoman of the House ethics committee, spoke on the House floor to explain the committee's recommendation to censure Rangel. "While it is difficult -- actually painful -- to sit in judgment of our colleague, it is our duty under the Constitution to do so," Lofgren said.

She went on to detail the violations that the committee, over the course of its two-year investigation, had found Rangel guilty of committing, including violations of the congressional ban on gifts and solicitations; the Code of Ethics in Government Service; Postal Service laws and regulations; the House Code of Conduct; the Purpose Law; the Ethics in Government Act; and the Internal Revenue Code.

"Nothing we say or do here today will in any way diminish his service to our country or our gratitude for his service within this House or as a hero of the Korean War," Lofgren said. "But that service does not excuse the fact that Rep. Rangel violated laws, he violated regulations, he violated the rules of this House and he violated our standards of conduct."

After Logren presented the charges, Rangel was given a chance to speak in his own defense. Dressed in his customary dark suit and pocket square, a forlorn Rangel appealed to his colleagues for fairness.

"I stand to say that I have made serious mistakes. I do believe rules are made to be enforced. I do believe we in Congress have a higher responsibility than most people. I do believe that senior members should act...as a model for new, less experienced members," he said. "But I ask for fairness."

Rangel insisted he never deliberately broke the rules of the House.

"The counsel of the committee found no evidence at all of corruption, found no evidence of self enrichment, found no evidence that there was an intention on my part to evade my responsibility, whether in taxes or financial disclosures," Rangel said. "There's absolutely no excuse for my omissions for my responsibility to obey those rules. I take full responsibility of that. I brought it on myself, but I still believe that this body has to be guided by fairness."

When he finished, several House members, both Democratic and Republican, rose to defend him.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) spoke after Rangel and called the proposed censure of his friend "singularly harsh and unfair and without precedent." Scott argued that Rangel had admitted his mistakes, but that he should be punished as previous members guilty of similar violations had been -- namely, with a reprimand.

"Charlie is not asking to be excused for his conduct, but based on the precedent in the House, there is no precedent for censure in this case," Scott said.

John Tanner, a conservative Democrat from Tennessee, also called for a reprimand rather than censure. "As a lawyer, I also respect precedent," Tanner said. "I have searched this record and find no activity involving moral turpitude, or any activity that could be classified as one with criminal intent."

Perhaps the most heartfelt and surprising support for Rangel came from Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who has often sparred with Rangel on partisan issues. "I have never heard anyone question Charlie Rangel's integrity, nor have I ever seen Charlie Rangel treat anyone with disrespect," he said. "I am imploring you today to pause for a moment and step back, to reflect not just on the life of Charlie Rangel, but more importantly the 220 years of tradition and precedent in this House."

But not every speaker defended Rangel, and in the end, a majority of House members voted to censure the 20-term House veteran for his actions.

Just before the vote, Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the ethics committee, rose to say that Rangel has only himself to blame for the punishment he faced and that the House should not allow one of its most senior members to violate the laws members themselves write.

"When you go back home this weekend try explaining to your constituents that it's OK for the chairman of the tax-writing committee not to pay his taxes, but not for your constituents to do the same," Bonner said.

Following the vote, a somber House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Rangel to stand in the well of the House so that she could read the public censure recommended by his colleagues.

Pelosi spoke quietly as she read the language to Rangel, condemning his actions and ordering that he pay restitution for back taxes to the Treasury. When Pelosi finished reading, she lightly tapped her speaker's gavel and quickly left the podium.

Rangel then went once more to the lectern, telling House members that he felt "truly good."

"A lot of it has to do with the fact that I know in my heart that I am not going to be judged by this Congress," he said. "I am going to be judged by my life, my activities, my contributions to society . . . At the end of the day, compared to where I've been, I haven't had a bad day since."