“No committee, arguably, has more power or attracts more lobbyists than the Committee on Ways and Means,” writes the NYT’s Robin Toner. “Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, joined the committee in 1975, and now, at the age of 76, has finally arrived at the very top.”
Jared Bernstein, a liberal economist, said: “When the Ways and Means Committee has worked well, they’ve identified social needs and advocated for the funds to meet them. Will this committee do that? I hope so.”
What does this mean for Rangel’s chairmanship? “Chairmen of the 218-year-old committee have traditionally been at the center of the great debates, including how to support a growing elderly population and how to deal with the excesses of capitalism.”
You can expect Rangel to engage economic issues from a similar rhetorical perspective, a liberal one that seeks “to cushion workers in this rough, new, competitive environment.” But as Toner also observes that “the ideological gulf between the two parties is vast, not just on tax cuts, but on the role of government versus the private market in areas like health care.”
In recognition of Rep. Rangel’s new position, we offer this moment from the Acton Institute’s history. Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, and Rep. Rangel share the following exchange during Rev. Sirico’s testimony before the Ways and Means Committee in 1995 on welfare reform:
For more on Rangel’s views of religion, wealth, poverty, and charity, check out the dialog from an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews, where Rangel asserts that Jesus said that “the rich are going straight to hell.”