Charlie Rangel portrait unveiled in committee room

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Less than a year after being censured by the U.S. House, Rep. Charles Rangel had his portrait unveiled in the hearing room of the committee he once headed.

The $64,500 oil painting of the 81-year-old Rangel was paid for out of his political fund, the New York Post reported Friday.

An ethics scandal forced the New York congressman to step down from his post as head of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and led to his censure by the House in December 2010.

"I just want people to know that if something happens to me this is no substitute for the funeral," Rangel joked at the Thursday ceremony.

Later, he said his portrait in the committee room gave him a sense of "vindication."

Rangel's portrait joins those of other former chairmen, including Wilbur D. Mills, D-Ark., who attracted much attention for his night out with a stripper, Fanne Foxe, and Dan Rostenkowski, who served 15 months in prison for mail fraud, the Los Angeles Times reported.