The ethics subcommittee panel investigating 13 charges of impropriety against Rep. Charles Rangel is recommending that he be reprimanded. Rep. Rangel still faces a September trial by an eight-member panel in September. The panel has the power to dismiss any of the allegations against him or to censure the veteran lawmaker who has represented his Harlem district for 40 years. The panel can also recommend expulsion. 

A reprimand is less serious than a censure, which requires not only a vote but forces a member to appear at the front of the chamber while the speaker or another designated member reads the censure resolution.

More from The Hill:

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), chairman of the ethics investigative subcommittee that announced the charges, told reporters Friday that his panel concluded Rangel should be reprimanded.

"The recommendation that we had was that he be reprimanded," Green said.

Such a punishment might be seen as a slap on the wrist to some. The subpanel could have recommended that Rangel be censured, or that he be expelled from the House. There was no recommendation for punishment listed in the lengthy report issued by Green's panel on Thursday.

Politico also offers some background as to why this scandal is not likely to cause the Democrats any lasting damage.

First, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other party leaders advising Democrats to stay calm – lawmakers say the dearth of calls for Rangel’s head reflects a mix of respect for both him personally and the institution. They see a veteran member of Congress, a war hero who has served the nation and Harlem in Washington, and don’t want to “jump on his bones,” as one Democrat put it.

“The process will work,” Pelosi said. “It’s bipartisan; the chips will have to fall where they may politically, but upholding the highest ethical standard is the highest priority for us.”

Second, Democrats believe the Rangel scandal isn't really hurting them all that badly back in their home districts. Some House Democrats think the media is overplaying the possible national implications of the case.

"I am not aware of anyone who is going to lose their election over this," said one senior Democrat. "Until it becomes a problem for other members, they will stick with Charlie."

And finally, in spite of the sordid nature of some of the Rangel allegations, the "Statement of Alleged Violations" released by a four-member investigative subcommittee on Thursday, didn't contain any new blockbusters. Members have been hearing about Rangel's ethics problems for two years, so the actual list of ethics charges had less impact because there were no surprises.

"This is a sad, individual tragedy," said one junior Democrat in a swing district. "But despite what the media is saying, this is not playing nationally, and there's no sign it will."

Rep. Anthony Weiner who represents the New York Ninth Congressional District went ballistic on the House floor Thursday over his Republican colleagues' procedural objection to an amendment to the Public Health Services Act. The amendment would extend and improve health care benefits for 9/11 victims suffering from lasting health complications. The bill ultimately failed to get the needed two-thirds majority, 255-159, setting the stage for Rep. Weiner's outburst.

More from Talking Points Memo:

In a rant that lasted for almost two minutes, a hopping mad Weiner railed against "cowardly" Republicans who claimed they were voting against the bill because of "procedure." Weiner spat: "It's Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans, rather than doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes!"

Weiner attacked those who "stand up and say, 'Oh, if only we had a different process we'd vote yes.' You vote yes if you believe yes! You vote in favor of something if you believe it's the right thing! If you believe it's the wrong thing, you vote no!"

"It is a shame! A shame," he exclaimed.

Kudos to Rep. Weiner. The Republicans are shameless and they need to be called on it.

The longtime New York Congressman Charlie Rangel who has served 20 terms in the House rising to become Chair of the powerful Ways and Means committee has reportedly failed to strike a deal in an effort to avoid a publicly humiliating trial over ethics violations. Rep. Rangel is being charged with misusing his office for fundraising, failure to disclose income, belated payment of taxes and possible help with a tax shelter for a company whose CEO was a major donor.

The story in the New York Times.

The House ethics committee laid out 13 charges of House rules violations against Representative Charles B. Rangel on Thursday, and began the process for a public trial on the charges.

The move came after Mr. Rangel, a veteran congressman, failed to reach a settlement to avoid the rare and potentially embarrassing proceeding before the committee gathered at 1 p.m.

Mr. Rangel’s lawyers continued to hope they could still settle the case.

The charges against Mr. Rangel, a Democrat from Harlem, include multiple breaches of the House ban on accepting gifts of more than $50 and of the requirement that members act at all times in a way that reflects creditably on the House.

Committee members struck a somber but determined tone in their brief public meeting, expressing affection for Mr. Rangel while at the same time saying they needed to uphold the integrity of Congress, especially given its dismal standing with the public.

“Credibility is exactly what is at stake here — the very credibility of the House of Representatives itself before the American people,” said an ethics committee member, Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican of Texas.

The charges involve four areas: Mr. Rangel’s solicitation of contributions to a school to be named in his honor at City College of New York; his errors and omissions on his House financial disclosure forms; his acceptance of rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, including one for his campaign office; and his failure to report and pay taxes on rental income on a beach villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

Mr. Rangel did not appear at the meeting on Thursday, but has submitted a written response to the charges.

The last time the House held a public trial of a member was in 2002, after Ohio Democrat Representative James Traficant had been convicted criminally of accepting bribes. Rep. Traficant was expelled from the House and later served time in prison.

Rep. Rangel has already admitted some of the minor charges but seems averse to acknowledge that he misused his position as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in early 2007 by helping to preserve a tax break for an oil executive who pledged $1 million to help build the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York.

The Fiscal Times has an interview with Rep. David Obey, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who will retire at the end of this term after 40 years in office. The entire interview is a must read and left me with a deepened admiration for one of the last of a dying breed, an old school New Deal Democrat that gets working class sensibilities. 

While the article mostly centers on Rep. Obey's fight with the Obama Administration, and in particular with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, over funding for Obama's answer to No Child Left Behind, his Race to the Top educational proposal. Obey wants to cut $500 million, about 10 percent of the $5.35 billion budget proposal, in order to assist the states with teacher salaries and prevent mass layoffs. But the Obama Administration is threatening a veto if any funding is cut.

At its core, Race to the Top is a competitive grant program that rewards states that shift their education emphasis onto teacher quality and encourage innovations like charter schools. Personally, I'm not much for charter schools and see them as part of the assault by the monied classes on the state so the Obama proposals are a non-starter. Charter schools simply drain money and talent from an already stressed public school system. Graduation rates are at 69 percent as of 2009 that is no higher than the 68.8 percent at public schools despite the increased funding these schools receive.

But beyond the discussion over the funding fight over the Race to Top program, Rep. Obey has few other tidbits to gnaw on. Here's one that grabbed my goat:

We were told we have to offset every damn dime of [new teacher spending]. Well, it ain’t easy to find offsets, and with all due respect to the administration their first suggestion for offsets was to cut food stamps. Now they were careful not to make an official budget request, because they didn’t want to take the political heat for it, but that was the first trial balloon they sent down here. … Their line of argument was, well, the cost of food relative to what we thought it would be has come down, so people on food stamps are getting a pretty good deal in comparison to what we thought they were going to get. Well isn’t that nice. Some poor bastard is going to get a break for a change.

Was that some sort of Obama Administration channels John Boehner and his I could give a rat's ass about the poor GOP session? Seriously, only a callous bastard like John Boehner or Paul Ryan could suggest that "people on food stamps are getting a pretty good deal." Who are these people? Are they Democrats?

There's more...

New York Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, whose father was the previous incumbent, announced today that he will challenge embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel in the Democratic primary this Fall. Congressman Rangel, the former Chair of the powerful House Ways & Mean Committee, represents the New York Fifteenth Congressional District that includes Harlem.

More from the New York Times:

Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV announced on Monday that he would challenge Representative Charles B. Rangel in this fall’s Democratic primary, setting the stage for a deeply personal battle between two of Harlem’s biggest political names and oldest foes.

Mr. Powell’s entry into the race suggests that Mr. Rangel’s political troubles are reshaping the campaign for his seat, which was once considered untouchable. So far, he faces two declared opponents, and a growing list of would-be candidates who are exploring the race.

Mr. Powell, 47, acknowledged that the ethics probes swirling around Mr. Rangel, including an investigation into corporate-sponsored trips he went on, and the congressman’s decision to give up the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, had emboldened him to run.

“The fact that he is no longer chairman is significant,” Mr. Powell said. “If he were still chairman, I might not be running.”

Mr. Powell on Monday speculated that Mr. Rangel would seek re-election and then resign, in order to control the appointment of his successor, a situation that aides to Mr. Rangel immediately dismissed.

Mr. Powell, whose father lost his congressional seat to a young Mr. Rangel three decades ago, tried unsuccessfully to oust Mr. Rangel from the seat in 1994, losing by a wide margin.

Mr. Powell said he has raised about $65,000 for his campaign, far less than the roughly $500,000 Mr. Rangel has. But Mr. Rangel’s legal bills have eaten into his campaign budget, and show no signs of abetting.

During a press conference on Monday in Harlem, Mr. Powell said that avenging his father’s defeat is something “I have gotten out my system” and that he was running against Mr. Rangel this time because it was “time to turn the page” on his tenure in Congress.

Yesterday, the New York Daily News caught up with Congressman Rangel and asked him about the speculation that he may face a primary challenge. Here is that interview: