Posted on 03/03/2010 3:48:31 PM PST by SmithL
Rep. Pete Stark took the gavel of one of the House's most powerful committees today — at least temporarily.
Stark, D-Fremont, will be interim chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over all taxation and other revenue-raising measures, as well as other programs such as Social Security; Medicare; unemployment benefits; foster care and adoption programs; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal welfare program; and child-support enforcement. The committee's second-most-senior Democrat, Stark has served as the Health Subcommittee's chairman.
Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., temporarily gave up the committee's chair Wednesday, days after the House Ethics Committee publicly admonished him for breaking House rules by accepting corporate-paid travel. Rangel said he didn't want the cloud of an ongoing investigation to darken his fellow Democrats' campaigns in November's midterm elections.
Stark was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Allegations of ethical improprieties have dogged Rangel for years, but Stark in December 2008 said nobody was jockeying to replace Rangel as Ways and Means chairman.
"I automatically temporarily become acting chair if he steps aside," he said at the time, and while the House Democratic Caucus could vote to override that within 10 days of it happening, he doubts anybody would want the job on such an interim basis. "So if he steps aside, unless Nancy (Pelosi) doesn't want me there, I would be acting chair and then God knows what would happen then."
Stark said at that time that the only way he'd want the chair permanently is if Rangel freely chooses 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," he 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."
The "mouthing off" Stark referred to has included suggesting on the House floor that Republicans were sending troops to Iraq to die "for the president's amusement," as well as referring to a former GOP lawmaker as a "little fruitcake" — gaffes that have given some Democrats pause when mulling Stark as Ways and Means chairman.
But progressives have stood by Stark as someone who's open and honest about his views, if perhaps hot-tempered.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, this morning said Rangel's decision to step aside is unfortunate.
"We regret that Chairman Charles Rangel is taking a temporary leave of absence during this very critical time in our efforts to turn the economy around. He has been an effective chairman and has shown tremendous leadership on many issues and dedicated service to his constituents," she said.
"We recognize that Chairman Rangel did not want this matter to be distractions from our efforts to create jobs and revitalize our economy. However, we remain concerned about the precedent this sets for the House of Representatives that the political climate is such that a member would feel the need to step aside, even temporarily, during an ongoing proceeding," Lee added. "We look forward to the conclusion of the investigation and to him resuming his position as chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means."
Yet at least one Bay Area Democrat has been feeling precisely the kind of heat Rangel said he's stepping aside to divert: Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, has been under fire from the National Republican Congressional Committee for accepting campaign contributions from Rangel.
McNerney said this week he'll give away to charity all of the $21,000 Rangel has given him over the years; NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos said Wednesday it's too late.
"If Jerry McNerney cared about anything more than saving his political career, he would have given back Rangel's money and denounced his corruption a long time ago," she said. "Instead, McNerney let his crooked friend bankroll his election to Congress and has been bailing him out ever since by sweeping the scandal under the rug. McNerney likes to pretend that he's doing the right thing, but he's simply running for cover now that the story is hitting a little too close to home."
Pete Stark is congressman health care
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/08/29/story6.html
Rangel was gone as soon as health care was to be passed regardless...that Pete Stak is being placed in charge is particularly ominous
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