Maxwell School/Public Agenda Policy Breakfast: Charles Rangel

February 2008

CONGRESSMAN CHARLES RANGEL

With the presidential primary season heating up and the economy teetering on the brink of recession, Democratic Congressman and chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangel offered his insights on the election and addressed issues related to the nation’s tax code and tax reform. The outspoken Congressman also shared his views on hot-button issues such as trade policy, the federal budget, universal health care, and the philosophical policy differences between Democrats and Republicans.

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, founded in 1924, is the premier academic institution in the United States committed to scholarship, civic leadership, and education in public and international affairs. Maxwell is home to Syracuse University’s social science departments and to numerous nationally recognized multidisciplinary graduate programs in public policy, international studies, social policy, and conflict resolution. Maxwell's graduate program in public administration—the first of its kind—is ranked consistently the best in the nation.

Public Agenda's mission is to strengthen our nation's democratic capacity and its ability to tackle tough issues by ensuring that the public's thinking—in all its complexities and contradictions—is understood by leaders, and by fostering the best possible conditions and opportunities for the public to engage in the problem-solving process. Public Agenda is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1975 by social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.