Posted on 03/04/2010 1:04:03 PM PST by SmithL
Rep. Pete Stark won't become interim chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Stark, D-Fremont, was the next-most-senior Democrat on the tax-writing committee after former Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 79, who temporarily stepped aside Wednesday pending the conclusion of an Ethics Committee probe into his corporate-paid travel. House rules said Stark, 78, would automatically ascend to the chair unless he declined, or unless House Democrats voted to pass him over.
But other Democrats on the committee reportedly were concerned about Stark's hot-tempered tendencies — which has included some eye-watering tirades and blunt speech on the House floor, in committee hearings and at constituent meetings in his district — as well as about his health, which has kept him from many roll calls in the past year. As Rangel stepped down to blunt Republican attacks in advance of November's midterm elections, these Democrats seemed to feel Stark wasn't a safer replacement.
Today, Stark said in an exclusive interview that he prefers to remain chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee so he can shepherd and implement health care reform. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., 79, will become the full committee's interim chairman instead.
"It seems to me we've got a chance in this Congress — maybe, unfortunately, into the next Congress, but over the next three years — the best chance we've ever had to get decent health Advertisement care reform, and I've been working on that a long time," said Stark, who has served in the House since 1973.
"Quite honestly, the idea of being chair of Ways and Means and running around the country trying to raise money is the last thing I want to do," he added, calling fundraising on behalf of fellow Democrats for the midterm elections "not exactly my long suit."
Asked whether his feelings were bruised by his fellow Democrats apparent lack of confidence, he replied, "Actually, not." Whatever his peers were discussing, he said, he decided health-care reform is his top priority and the health subcommittee is the best place for him to act on it: "I just think I've worked on it too long to be distracted by a bunch of other bureaucratic duties."
As for his health, Stark acknowledged that he was sidelined — and in and out of the hospital — in the spring of 2009 with pneumonia; while tests conducted this January showed him fully recovered, those tests found a small blood clot in one lung which required him to be on blood thinners in recent months. He has fully recovered from that by now, too, he said.
"As of now, I've just got to exercise more," he said, noting that's made harder by nerve problems in his left leg. "Other than that, most of my moving parts are in working order."
In a statement e-mailed earlier today, Stark had written that "(w)e are at the cusp of achieving health care reform and we must remain focused on moving forward.
"From COBRA coverage to keeping Medicare strong, I have devoted my career to making health care better and more accessible to Americans. I am committed to working to ensure that health care is affordable for people of all income levels and that we protect and improve Medicare for seniors and people with disabilities," he said in the statement. "Once we pass health reform, it will take careful oversight to make sure that it is being implemented correctly. I have chosen to remain Chair of the Health Subcommittee and look forward to working with my colleagues on these vital priorities."
Allegations of ethical improprieties have dogged Rangel for several years, with Republicans mounting a constant call for him to step aside. Stark had said in December 2008 that the only way he'd want the chairmanship permanently was if Rangel freely chose to retire from it.
"I'm good at it. I may mouth off about George W. Bush or whatever, but I've put together some of the most complex bipartisan legislation, much of it for Ronald Reagan for chrissakes," Stark had said in the run-up to President Barack Obama's inauguration and first 100 days. "I'd lay my credentials on the table and see if I could get the job, but with all we have to do now, I don't even want that to come up, it would be so distracting."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, issued a statement this morning saying Stark had informed her of his desire to remain as Health Subcommittee chairman.
"Pete Stark has been a leader in health insurance reform, and we will continue to rely upon him as we enter the final stretch of ensuring health care for all Americans," she said. "With Congressman Stark's decision, Congressman Sander Levin is now acting Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. As Chairman, Sandy Levin will be a powerful advocate for addressing the urgent needs of the American people."
Thank you, FRiend!
[Thugocracy and Loony Left]
Unbalanced and Unethical Dem to Replace Merely Unethical Dem (Stark for Rangel)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2464199/posts
[Corrupt: Maryland homestead exemption. Crazy: “Stark actually threatened to defenestrate (throw out of a window) a reporter whom he was mad at.”]
Stark Raving Mad
http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=13080
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, May 10, 2004
[Recorded on an answering machine to a VETERAN: Near the middle of his rambling message, the Congressman promised Dow, “But I’ll call you back later.” Why? Stark explained, “[To] let you tell me why you think you’re such a great, god-[bleep]ed hero.” (Stark did not call back.)
Yup. Nowadays I get all teary-eyed with nostalgia.
Who’da thunk at the time that the Cold War would end with a whimper rather than armageddon?
Rep. Pete Stark won't become interim chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.Perhaps even the Demwits found he was too crazed.
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