The House Ethics Committee has voted in favor of censuring Democratic Congressmember Charles Rangel of New York for 11 counts of ethics violations related to his personal finances. A congressional panel convicted Rangel this week for acts including failing to report rental income, improperly leasing a rent-stabilized apartment, and receiving donations from people with business before Congress. The entire House membership will now take up the committee’s decision. Rangel is the first House member in nearly three decades to be recommended for censure. Appearing before the committee, Rangel admitted to “mistakes” but maintained he had not engaged in corruption.

Rep. Charles Rangel: “Charles Rangel never sought any personal gain. I’ve been overpaid in terms of the satisfaction I’ve gotten for everything that I’ve ever done. Please make certain that my name—notwithstanding the imagination that some people may have—that there’s no way to stretch this that I was a corrupted individual, that I would bring shame to my family, to my community, to this Congress, and certainly to the country.”