WASHINGTON-The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards (R., N.C.) over allegations that the lawmaker sexually harassed two young female staffers and created a hostile work environment.

The vote passed 413 to 2. Only Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman (R., S.C.) voted against censure.

Censure is a public rebuke and is the most serious statement of disapproval short of expulsion. The vote came about a month after a House Ethics Committee investigation found there was "substantial evidence" Edwards violated House rules in his actions regarding the staffers, who later left his office, and recommended he be censured.

"I'm sorry that my actions, my judgment, or the way that I expressed a friendship ever put either of you in an uncomfortable position," Edwards said in a floor speech Tuesday, referring to the staffers. He also apologized to his wife for actions that subjected her to scrutiny and embarrassment. Still, he said, "regret is not an admission of sexual harassment" and he urged colleagues to vote against the measure.

Edwards spent the August recess lobbying fellow lawmakers to vote no. Last week, he sent a 22-page letter to his colleagues arguing that the findings of the ethics report were unsubstantiated.

Rep. Michael Guest (R., Miss.), who chairs the ethics committee, said Monday that the committee's findings contradicted many of the points Edwards raised in his letter.

"We deliberated carefully over those allegations, and so I would say I disagree with the way or the light in which Mr. Edwards paints his actions," Guest said.

"It's an unfortunate situation, and it's disappointing. I'm sure he's disappointed in himself," said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R., Texas). Arrington serves with Edwards on the budget committee and said he considers the lawmaker a friend.