By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. Representative Charles Rangel, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and chair of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, died on Monday, New York lawmakers said.
Rangel, 94, an African American who had been the face of Harlem politics for decades and an influential lawmaker, stepped down from Congress in 2016 after more than 45 years in office. The Democratic lawmaker was a key player in efforts to help President Barack Obama pass legislation in 2010 to revamp U.S. healthcare and make other major tax changes.
Congress in 1987 approved the “Rangel Amendment” that he championed to revise the U.S. tax code to bar foreign tax credits for U.S. companies that invested in apartheid-era South Africa. Rangel was one of the key lawmakers who wrote legislation in 2000 to normalize trade relations with China and pushed for years to lift the U.S. trade ban on Cuba.
Rangel in 2010 was censured by the House after failing to pay taxes on rent he earned from a property in the Dominican Republic and misusing his office to secure fundraising. He was forced to step down as chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
Rangel dropped out of high school to work at age 16 and was later wounded in U.S. Army service during the Korean War. He later graduated from New York University and received a law degree from St. John’s University Law School.
He began his congressional career in 1971 after defeating Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and was the 10th longest-serving U.S. House member in history. Rangel helped steer billions of dollars in federal spending to New York.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on Monday Rangel was “someone who never stopped fighting for his constituents and the best of America.”
Last week, Democratic U.S. Representative Gerald Connolly died at age 75 following his cancer diagnosis. Six House Democrats have died in office since April 2024.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Rod Nickel)
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