Boehner pledges GOP will continue to pursue Rangel

Republicans won't relent in pushing Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) to step down from his powerful chairmanship, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowed Thursday.

A day after most Democrats (and some Republicans) voted to shuffle off a resolution that would have forced Rangel to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Boehner said Republicans would continue to pursue the issue, while holding themselves to a high ethical standard.

"The move by House Democrats to simply refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee was an effort to sidestep the issue and make it easier for them to keep their members in line," Boehner told reporters at his weekly press conference. "But it certainly doesn't solve the problem of Mr. Rangel continuing in his post with these serious allegations, many of which he's admitted to, hanging out there."

Rangel has been accused of not accurately reporting income to the IRS while serving as chairman of that committee, which is in charge of writing the nation's tax laws.

"I'm just going to tell you, this issue is not going to go away," Boehner said. "When I took control as the Republican leader in the beginning of '07, I made it clear that I was going to hold our members to a higher standard; that it was critically important for us to begin the process of rebuilding trust."

That marks a recognition of the Republicans' own ethical difficulties when they lost control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, plagued in part due to ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Boehner gave no immediate hint as to how Republicans will be able to pursue Rangel beyond the Ethics committee, where the resolution on forcing Rangel to step aside will now be debated.