Just days into his 18th consecutive term in Congress, New York Rep. Charles Rangel (D) managed to offend the entire state of Mississippi. The New York Times quoted him as saying “Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?” In his apology, he basically said that New York was the best place in America and didn’t understand how anyone would want to live elsewhere (thus making every other state on par with Mississippi). That should give you some idea of what this guy is all about.

Rangel has served from New York’s 15th District, which includes upper Manhattan, parts of the Bronx and a large prison complex on Rikers Island, since 1970. In that time, he’s amassed a great deal of power in the House and is in line to become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He’s also been a supporter of the draft. That’s right, he wants to reinstate the draft. Yeah, that draft.

It doesn’t take much to see that Rangel is an important guy (even a Mississippian could catch that). At the risk of stepping on Stephen Colbert’s toes, I’d like to take a look at Rep. Rangel and why college students should care about his reelection.

With his reelection, Rangel becomes the fourth-longest serving Democratic representative, and he has made the most of every year. He has been a champion of the poor, supporting legislation to increase and renovate housing in the Bronx, reduce taxes for low-income workers and improve public education in New York. He’s also been a champion in the war against drugs, heading the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control.

Rangel has also been no stranger to controversy, being arrested three times in the last seven years, most recently for protesting human rights abuses outside of the Sudanese Embassy. He has also feuded with several leaders, calling Bill Clinton a “redneck” and telling off Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He has had spats with Dick Cheney, most recently calling him a “real son of a bitch” and recommending that he be treated for mental defects.

Rangel is set to take control of the Ways and Means Committee, which controls taxation, tariffs, Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits and revenue-raising programs. Think of it this way: Rangel is about to become one of the most important officials in most national economic issues. With President Bush’s tax cuts set to expire in 2011, Republicans are looking to renew them, but will undoubtedly find resistance in Rangel. They will also have to face him if they attempt to reform Social Security and Medicare. All of these programs are under scrutiny and will be changed by the time we will need them, so any action taken now affects our future.

However, Rangel has legislation on the table with a much more immediate impact on students’ lives. His HR 4752 would require all Americans (even women) between the ages of 18 and 42 to enter a mandatory period of military service. The bill does allow for people to serve as port screeners or take tasks other than military service. The bill is not likely to pass, with House democrats taking the offensive and almost 70 percent of Americans opposing a draft, but its mere existence means that military conscription is a possibility.

Rangel said he had fair intentions in authoring the bill. He says we never would have invaded Iraq if there had been a draft, since Congressmen’s children would have had to fight. Also, he wants to correct the inequality in the military, which he insists doesn’t represent the entire American population.

Regardless of his intentions, Rangel’s draft bill is a sobering thought. If the U.S. gets mired in another war similar to Iraq and finds itself short of military personnel, the draft will always be a viable possibility, especially with this bill on the table. That means that your classmates, even you, would be serving in the military out of college, obviously crimping your immediate career plans. It could also inspire another Vietnam-like situation, where draft protests almost tore the country apart. Rangels’ reelection, thus, is important for your future, so he’s an important guy to care about. Even if you live in Mississippi.