Rangel Acknowledges Seeking Gifts

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) acknowledged yesterday that he hoped his personal entreaties to foundations and corporations would bring in donations to an academic center that bears his name.

In a letter to the House ethics committee, Rangel confirmed that he sent at least 150 letters on congressional stationery to philanthropic and business leaders as part of his efforts to support the new Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. The center, which promotes diversity in public administration leadership, will house Rangel’s papers after he retires.

Read more: (Christopher Lee, “Rangel Acknowledges Seeking Gifts,” The Washington Post, 7/24/08)