Rangel Drops Reins of Vital House Committee
California's Stark Takes Over Ways and Means Panel for Now as Democrats Consider Other Candidates for Position
MARCH 4, 2010.
By JOHN D. MCKINNON and GREG HITT
WASHINGTON—Rep. Pete Stark was elevated Wednesday to acting chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, but it remained unclear how long the sometimes-fiery California Democrat would hold on to the powerful post.
Mr. Stark, by virtue of seniority, became acting chairman after Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat, stepped aside to avoid facing a Republican-sponsored censure vote in the House amid a series of ethics inquiries. Few in Congress expect Mr. Rangel to retake the job.
If Mr. Stark is able to consolidate power, the move would give greater clout to economic liberals in Congress.
But questions lingered among many Democrats about his history of public confrontations. Party leaders, who have the power to replace him, convened a series of closed-door meetings Wednesday aimed at either resolving those concerns or filling the vacuum by allowing another lawmaker to take over the panel. Among the possible alternatives, at least for the near term, is Rep. Sander Levin, an easygoing Michigan Democrat, said senior congressional aides.
Mr. Stark, 78, previously chaired the health-care subcommittee and is known as a fierce advocate of greater government involvement in the health-care system to expand coverage. His office didn't return calls seeking comment.
His ascension to the chairmanship raises political risks for congressional Democrats at a time when their popularity with voters already has been waning. As the sixth Californian to hold a House committee chairmanship in the current Congress, he also raises questions about the state's outsize influence under Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco.
Including Mr. Stark, the long-term contenders for the chairmanship are considered less friendly to many business interests than the man they would succeed. Mr. Rangel is a free-trader who also has sought to lower U.S. corporate tax rates in exchange for eliminating corporate loopholes. His priorities have slipped to the back burner at a time of rising protectionism and deepening deficits.
Mr. Levin is a labor ally who is skeptical of free-trade deals. Third in line is Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a hero of the civil-rights era. Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, another contender, is closest in sympathies to Mr. Rangel.
As election season nears, rank-and-file Democrats grew nervous defending Mr. Rangel, who is under scrutiny by Congress for a series of alleged ethical infractions. As many as 30 members planned to vote against him in a censure motion.
Pre-empting that vote, Mr. Rangel said Wednesday he was requesting a "leave of absence" from his post until the ethics inquiries have run their course. In an appearance before the full House Democratic caucus, Mr. Rangel said he didn't want to be a drag on the party. "I love my country. I love the Congress. I love the Democrats more," he said after the closed-door session.
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Eventual Return to Post Is Unlikely
.The struggle over who should succeed Mr. Rangel underscores the party's restlessness. In one meeting Wednesday, Mr. Stark offered to serve as a temporary "caretaker" chairman, until either a longer-term replacement is found, or Mr. Rangel has put his ethics troubles fully behind him.
Democrats Wednesday were careful to describe Mr. Stark as the "acting chairman." Rep. Shelley Berkley (D., Nev.) suggested the party may give Mr. Stark a limited choice: take the chairmanship for the balance of the year and give up his leadership of a key health subcommittee, "or stay where he is." She added, "He's got a lot to decide."
The Ways and Means Committee has sweeping jurisdiction, and is the starting point for legislation covering everything from tax and trade policy to entitlements and social services. One immediate implication would be that revamping the corporate tax code—a big focus for Mr. Rangel—will likely to slip further as a priority this year.
In the past Mr. Stark has favored expanding Medicare to the uninsured. A former banker, he also opposed Wall Street bailout legislation. He has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war.
Looming over his bid for the top job is a long history of rash public statements. In 2004, a San Francisco talk-radio station posted a voice mail message that Mr. Stark left for a constituent that said, in part: "Probably somebody put you up to this, and I'm not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter and somebody wrote it for you." In late 2007 he apologized for saying that Republicans were sending American youth to Iraq "to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."
In the near term, however, the committee's priorities aren't expected to change—regardless of who sits as chairman. Completing the health overhaul legislation will be the immediate priority, followed closely by job-creation legislation.
"The agenda is set," said Rep. Jim McDermott (D., Wash.), a senior member of the committee who expects the economy to dominate for the balance of the year. "Jobs is going to be the next thing."
Additionally, the Congress must act this year to extend the expiring Bush-era tax breaks for the middle class, an initiative that must first wend its way through the committee.
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com and Greg Hitt at greg.hitt@wsj.com
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