Rangel Admits Error On Taxes; Won't Quit Post

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Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel of New York is involved in another ethics controversy. The chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee admitted today that he owes several thousand dollars in back taxes for a vacation villa in the Dominican Republic. Rangel called it an omission.

As NPR's Brian Naylor reports, Rangel is already under investigation for other cases of questionable ethics.

BRIAN NAYLOR: It's been a rocky summer for Charlie Rangel. The House Ethics Committee is already looking into two issues - whether Rangel did anything wrong by accumulating four rent-stabilized apartments in his Harlem, New York district, and whether he improperly used his House stationary to write fundraising solicitations for a city university education center named for him.

Now, Rangel has asked the ethics panel to look into his failure to pay any taxes on some $75,000 in rental income from the Dominican villa he's owned for two decades. At a news conference today, Rangel said he didn't realize he was earning income because he didn't receive the rent money directly. It was used by the villa's developers to pay down Rangel's mortgage. And over the years, he says, he received just a half dozen statements from the developers, some of which were in Spanish.

Representative CHARLES RANGEL (Democrat, New York): Yes, I should have known you don't get a reduction on mortgage. But I'm saying that as I deal with trillions of dollars, the whole idea of possibly having $2,000 one year, less than that the other year, $5,000 next year, was an omission. An omission that's irresponsible.

NAYLOR: Rangel said he'll pay the taxes he owes. His lawyers say that's likely to add up to some $10,000 in combined federal state and local taxes. For some Republicans, that's not enough. House Minority Leader John Boehner sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi yesterday demanding that Rangel be removed from his chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means panel, a step, Rangel says, he has no intention of taking.

Rep. RANGEL: if you're asking, should I step aside as a member of Congress, a member of Ways and Means Committee, chairman of the committee, the answer is no. I really don't believe that making mistakes means that you have to give up your career.

NAYLOR: Republicans have been trying to capitalize on Rangel's troubles. The party's House campaign arm has been calling on Democrats who have accepted campaign contributions from Rangel to give back what it calls the scandal-ridden cash.

Rangel, a 38-year veteran of the House, was named today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington one of its 20 most corrupt lawmakers. He called the designation sad and unfair.

Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

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