Charles B. Rangel

Congressman Charles B. Rangel represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 2017 (92nd -114th Congresses). In Congress, Rangel worked to revitalize urban neighborhoods, make housing affordable housing, reduce unemployment, and diminish drug trafficking and abuse. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and former CBC chair for the 94th Congress, he also led the effort to end apartheid in South Africa and restore democratic government to Haiti. Rangel became the first African American to serve as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee (110th-111th Congresses). He served as chair of both the Select Narcotics Abuse and Control Committee (98th-103rd Congresses) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (11th Congress). He was also a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. Other committee assignments included the Public Works, Science and Aeronautics, Select Crime, Joint Taxation, and District of Columbia committees. Before his election to Congress, Rangel served in the U.S. Army from 1948-1952, during which time he fought in the Korean War and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. In 2007, he published a memoir entitled And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress. He earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a law degree from St. John’s University School of Law.