Editorial Prompts Rangel Retreat on Taxes
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By ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter NY Sun
WASHINGTON — At the first whiff of editorial buckshot from the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Charles Rangel is heading for the hills — at least on the topic of taxes.
Only a few days ago, the ranking minority member of House’s tax-writing Ways and Means Committee told Congress Daily that he would consider raising taxes if the Democrats gain control of the House in November and he becomes the committee chairman. Mr. Rangel indicated that he would consider tax increases across the spectrum, Congress Daily quoted him as saying. He told Bloomberg News he couldn’t think of a single first term Bush tax cut worth saving.
This prompted the Journal to issue an editorial yesterday reprising his quotations and congratulating the New York Democrat, saying voters wouldn’t be able to say they weren’t warned. But yesterday, in an interview with The New York Sun, Mr. Rangel retreated with alacrity. Asked about the Journal editorial in a telephone interview, Mr. Rangel said it was too soon to discuss any tax hikes or tax cuts. Instead, he said that were he to assume the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, he would look to host a retreat with Treasury Secretary Paulson and one of his predecessors, Robert Rubin, to discuss a bipartisan approach to tax policy.
While he told the Sun that he had not read the editorial, Mr. Rangel said the Journal’s piece was “cheapening.” As for his interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Rangel said, “The only question that came up was the alternative minimum tax and tax reform. I said, ‘If we are going to deal with it, everything would have to be on the table.’”
With regard to the Republican across-the-board tax cuts, which expire in 2010, Mr. Rangel said, “If it relates to tax cuts on 2010, I can’t say I have any great ambitions as to what I would like to see.” He added later that his position on those tax cuts would depend on “what the economy looks like and how many wars the president has gotten us into.”
Over the course of a 12-minute interview, the words “raise” and “taxes” did not once emerge joined from Mr. Rangel’s mouth. But he also made clear that he supported what he said was the president’s promise for a “revenue neutral” approach to simplifying the tax code. In this respect, he said, “You can’t simplify the tax code and say everything but taxes are on the table.” He did not elaborate.
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