In a stinging rebuke to one of Capitol Hill's most powerful lawmakers, a bipartisan House panel Tuesday found Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, guilty of 11 of 13 ethics-violation charges, including using congressional staff and stationery to solicit donations.
BREAKING NEWS: A House ethics panel has found Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York guilty on 11 counts of breaking House rules.
The scheduled Nov. 15 start of Rep. Charles B. Rangel's ethics trial is in jeopardy, because the former Ways and Means Committee chairman no longer has a defense team.
The Obama administration is playing with fire when it tries to bully other countries like Mexico and China to satisfy protectionist interest groups in the United States.
Earlier this month, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to broaden the powers of the Commerce Department, which will allow it to impose tariffs when another country is deemed to be a "currency manipulator." The move was aimed explicitly at China, which keeps the value of its currency, the yuan, artificially lower than markets would dictate.
The House on Wednesday fired a warning shot at China by passing a bill with strong bipartisan support that would raise tariffs on Chinese imports if the Asian giant keeps an artificial lid on its currency.
The House ethics committee split along party lines Tuesday as Republicans demanded pre-election trials for two prominent Democrats, Reps. Charles B. Rangel and Maxine Waters.
Washington must realize that the currency bill is no panacea for the U.S. economic ills or even for the nation's trade policy failures.
Accusing China of stealing U.S. jobs through "egregious" trade practices, legislators demanded action from the Obama administration Thursday and called for bipartisan legislation giving the Treasury ammunition to penalize China for using an artificially low exchange rate to gain an advantage in trade.
