Who

Charlie Rangel is the gravelly-voiced Congressman who represents Harlem, Spanish Harlem, and Washington Heights. Of course, you probably know him best for his near-constant appearances on the cable news circuit.

Backstory

A lifelong Harlem resident, Rangel served as a sergeant in an all-black artillery battalion in the Korean War when he was just a teenager. After returning to the States, he toiled as a vacuum salesman before sailing through NYU (on the GI Bill) and St. John's Law School, then went to work as a U.S. attorney in Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department. Following two terms as a state assemblyman, Rangel was elected to the House of Representatives in 1970, when he upstaged Adam Clayton Powell in the Democratic primary.

Rangel became one of Harlem's chief powerbrokers during the '80s and '90s, a member of the so-called Gang of Four along with David Dinkins, Basil Paterson and Percy Sutton. As a member of the Ways and Means committee in the '80s, he worked with Republican Jack Kemp to create federal "empowerment zones," a set of tax breaks and economic incentives to help develop impoverished urban areas. He also led the charge against South Africa's apartheid government, pushing for changes to tax codes to sanction companies who did business with the regime. More generally, he's been a reliably liberal voice on the big issues that have historically plagued his district: poverty, drug abuse, and inadequate public education.

Of note

Now the fourth-longest-serving Democrat in the House—not to mention one of the highest-ranking—Rangel remains an institution in Congress and the New York political scene alike with 18 reelections under his belt. (In 2006, he won reelection with 94 percent of the vote.) But his influence only increased when Democrats gained control of the House in 2006 and Rangel at long last became chairman of the all-powerful Ways and Means committee, which holds sway over all things money-related like taxes, trade, and programs like Social Security. Since then, Rangel has emerged as a vocal proponent of legislation to eliminate the tax loopholes that have long benefited private-equity and hedge-fund moguls, and also introduced a bill to help struggling homeowners with a refundable tax.

To many, though, Rangel is just as well known for his occasional theatrics. He's been arrested on a handful of occasions in order to make a statement (most recently to raise awareness for Darfur), and in 2003 he made headlines when he proposed reinstating the draft, making the point that politicians wouldn't be so eager to go to war if there was a chance their children could be drafted. (Only two legislators voted in favor of the bill, and Rangel wasn't even one of them.) And while he's proposed several bills that bestow honors on major African-American figures like Lena Horne and Arthur Ashe, another prominent black he has sought to honor is Hon. Charles Rangel. He's used his position on the Ways and Means committee to earmark $2 million to build the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service, the Rangel Conference Center, and the Charles Rangel Library at the City College of New York. In 2008, a public interest group called Citizens Against Government Waste honored him with its annual "Narcissist Award."

Drama

Over the years Rangel has taken heat for his off-the-cuff comments to reporters, which is probably to be expected when you spend as much time in front of cameras as he does. In 2005 he called Bill Clinton a "redneck," eliciting an outcry. During the heated 2006 Congressional elections, Rangel called Dick Cheney "a real son of a bitch" and suggested he needed mental help. The same year, he got Mississippians hot and bothered when he rhetorically asked, "Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?" More recently, he made comments about Rudy Giuliani (and his relationship with Judi Nathan) and Mitt Romney (regarding his Mormon faith), both of which later prompted him to apologize.

But it isn't merely by opening his mouth that Rangel lands himself in hot water. In July 2008, Rangel faced a mountain of controversy after the New York Times revealed that—despite his stated concern about Harlem's dwindling supply of rent-controlled apartments—the congressman lives in three adjacent rent-controlled units on the 16th floor of Harlem's Lenox Terrace thanks to a questionable arrangement with developer the Olnick Organization; he also has a rent-controlled campaign office in the building, even though state and city regulations prohibit the practice.

In print

In April 2007 Rangel published a memoir, And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress.

Personal

Rangel and his wife, Alma, who also looms large in Harlem politics, have two grown kids, Steven and Alicia. The couple resides in Harlem (see above).