<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="Street"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
panose-1:2 11 6 3 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
h3
{margin-top:12.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:12.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:13.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
strong
{font-style:normal;}
em
{font-weight:normal;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:navy;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1817330187;
mso-list-template-ids:-737090046;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level3 lfo2
{mso-level-start-at:0;
mso-level-numbering:continue;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2 lfo3
{mso-level-start-at:0;
mso-level-numbering:continue;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level3 lfo3
{mso-level-start-at:0;
mso-level-numbering:continue;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy;font-weight:bold'>Rep.
Rangel says he'll step down for now as Ways and Means chairman<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>Mar 03, 2010<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#999999" face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:#999999'><a
href="http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/on-politics/2010/03/03/rangel-galleryx-large.jpg"
target="_blank"><font color="#999999"><span style='color:#999999'><img
border=0 width=230 height=172 id="_x0000_i1036"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01CABAB1.7FEDF780" credit="By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP"
cutline="Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., says he'll temporarily step down from House Ways and Means Committee chairmanship while under an ethics investigation. "></span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#999999" face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:#999999'>Rep. Charles
Rangel, D-N.Y., says he'll temporarily step down from <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address
w:st="on">House Ways</st1:address></st1:Street> and Means Committee
chairmanship while under an ethics investigation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#999999" face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:#999999'>By Manuel
Balce Ceneta, AP<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>Rep. Charles
Rangel said today he will temporarily step down as chairman of the powerful <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">House Ways</st1:address></st1:Street> and
Means Committee as an ethics panel continues an investigation of his
activities.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>The New York
Democrat made his announcement just minutes ago at a Capitol Hill news
conference and declined to take questions because doing so "would distract
me from what I have to do" on health care legislation and a jobs bill. He
said he was leaving "to avoid my colleagues having to defend me" as
campaigns heat up for the midterm elections in November.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>House
Republicans had been <a
href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/03/house-to-vote-on-rep-rangels-chairmanship/1">mounting
a challenge</a> to Rangel's chairmanship, moving in recent days to force a vote
to take the gavel of the tax-writing committee away from him.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>Last week, <a
href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-02-25-rangel-ethics_N.htm">Rangel
was admonished</a> by the House ethics committee for taking trips to the
Caribbean that were paid for by private companies -- a violation of House gift
rules. The panel, however, did not disclose findings in its investigation of
other alleged ethics violations by Rangel, including failing to disclose rental
income from a villa he owns in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Dominican Republic</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>Rangel, 69, has
represented a district based in <st1:City w:st="on">New York City</st1:City>'s <st1:place
w:st="on">Harlem</st1:place> for nearly 40 years. He is a founding member of
the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American to chair the
powerful Ways and Means Committee.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><font
size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>USA</span></font></st1:country-region></st1:place><font
size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'> TODAY's Fredreka Schouten and John Fritze will have
more on Rangel and the ethics investigation as the day goes on. Check back here
for more details.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>Updated at 9:45
a.m. ET: The Ways and Means Committee released a one-sentence <a
href="http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/0032.pdf">letter </a>from
Rangel to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, requesting a leave of absence from the
commitee chairmanship until the ethics panel completes its review.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'>(Posted by
Catalina Camia and Fredreka <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>