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Barney Frank
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 1981
Preceded byRobert Drinan
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceNewton, Massachusetts
Alma materHarvard College and Harvard Law School
OccupationAttorney

Barnett "Barney" Frank (born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and a Democrat in the United States House representing Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 1981. He is the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is known for his support for civil liberties. In 1987 Frank became the first openly gay Representative and one of the most prominent American politicians to come out as gay; he has continued to advocate for LGBT issues.

Early life

Frank was born to a Jewish family in Bayonne, New Jersey and was educated at Harvard College, where he resided in Kirkland House and then Winthrop House, graduating in 1962. He taught undergraduates at Harvard while studying for a Ph.D., but left before completing the degree in 1968, to become Boston's mayor, Kevin White's, Chief Assistant, a position he held for three years. He then served for a year as Administrative Assistant to Congressman Michael J. Harrington.

Political career

1981, Congressional Pictorial Directory - Frank's first term as Congressman

In 1972, Frank was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he served for eight years. During that time, he entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1977.

While in state and local government, Frank taught part time at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Boston University. He published numerous articles on politics and public affairs, and in 1992 he published Speaking Frankly, an essay on the role the Democratic Party should play in the 1990s.

In 1979, Frank became a member of the Massachusetts Bar. A year later, he won the Democratic nomination for the seat of Father Robert Drinan, who had left Congress following a call by Pope John Paul II for priests to withdraw from political positions. In 1982, redistricting forced him to run against Republican Margaret Heckler. The newly configured district retained Frank's district number — the 4th — but was geographically more Heckler's district. The 4th district includes many of Boston's western and southern suburbs — such as Brookline, Newton, and Foxborough — as well as the South Coast. Initially a heavy underdog, he focused on Heckler's initial support for President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts, and won by 20 percentage points. He hasn't faced credible opposition since, and has been reelected 12 times. Frank is facing both a Republican and an Independent opponents in 2008.

Steve Gobie reprimand

In 1990, the House voted to reprimand Frank when it was revealed that Steve Gobie, a male escort whom Frank had befriended after hiring him through a personal advertisement, claimed to have conducted an escort service from Frank's apartment when he was not at home. Frank fired Gobie earlier in 1990 and reported the incident to the House Ethics Committee after learning of Gobie's activities. After an investigation, the Ethics Committee found no evidence that Frank had known of or been involved in the alleged illegal activity and dismissed all of Gobie's more scandalous claims. The committee recommended that Frank receive a formal reprimand for his relationship with a prostitute. Attempts to expel or censure Frank, led by Republican member Larry Craig (who himself was later embroiled in his own gay sexual scandal), failed. Rather, the House voted 408-18 to reprimand Frank who later won re-election in 1990 with 66 percent of the vote, and has won by larger margins ever since.

Political initiatives and positions

LGBT issues

Frank has been outspoken on many civil rights issues, including LGBT rights. In 1987, he publicly came out as gay. He said in a 1996 interview: "I'm used to being in the minority. I'm a left-handed gay Jew. I've never felt, automatically, a member of any majority." In 1995, then-Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey famously referred to Frank as "Barney Fag" in a press interview. Armey apologized and said it was "a slip of the tongue". Frank did not accept Armey's explanation but accepted that the slur could have just popped out noting, "I turned to my own expert, my mother, who reports that in 59 years of marriage, no one ever introduced her as Elsie Fag."

In 1998, Frank founded the National Stonewall Democrats, the national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Democratic organization. In May 2007, Frank was one of two openly gay members of Congress, along with Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Frank is known for his witty, self-deprecating sense of humor. He once famously quipped that he was unable to complete his review of the Starr Report detailing President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, complaining that it was "too much reading about heterosexual sex". In 2004 and again in 2006, a survey of Capitol Hill staffers published in Washingtonian gave Frank the title of the "brainiest", "funniest", and "most eloquent" member of the House.

Frank's stance on outing gay Republicans has become well publicized. The "Frank Rule" holds it acceptable to out a closeted person who uses their power, position, or notoriety to hurt LGBT people. The issue became relevant during the Mark Foley scandal of 2006, during which Frank clarified his position on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher - "I think there's a right to privacy. But the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy. And people who want to demonize other people shouldn't then be able to go home and close the door and do it themselves."

Medical marijuana

In Congress, Frank is an ardent supporter of medical marijuana. He was the author of the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (H.R. 2592), an attempt to stop federal government from intervening with states' medical marijuana laws. Frank consistently voted for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, annually proposed by Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), that would prohibit Department of Justice from prosecuting medical marijuana patients. As of March 2008, he is trying to pass the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008 (HR 5843), which would decriminalize small amounts of the drug.

Online gambling rights

Frank has also partnered with Ron Paul in support of online gambling rights. In 2006, both strongly opposed H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. To restore online gambling rights, in 2007 Frank sponsored H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. This bill would have established licensing and regulation of online gaming sites. It provided for age verification and protections for compulsive gamblers. In 2008, he and Paul introduced H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act, a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling". As a result of these efforts, Frank (who does not gamble) has become a hero to poker players and online gamblers, including many Republicans.

Free speech

In 2006, Frank was one of only three Representatives to oppose the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which restricted protests (notably those of Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church) at soldiers' funerals. He opposed the bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate, on civil liberties and constitutional grounds. Frank said of the vote, "I think it’s very likely to be found unconstitutional. It’s true that when you defend civil liberties you are typically defending people who do obnoxious things... You play into their hand when you let them provoke you into overdoing it. I don’t want these thugs to claim America is hypocritical."

House Financial Services Committee

In 1991, Frank pushed for reduced restriction on two- and three-family home mortgages.

In September 2003, Frank, then the ranking Democrat on the Republican-led Financial Services Committee, opposed Bush administration proposals for increasing oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by creating an independent agency to supervise. The proposal would have moved oversight from Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the new agency. Frank stated in 2003, "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Frank stated that the bill would potentially "weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing".

As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, beginning in 2007, Frank "sits at the center of power". Frank has been a critic of aspects of the Federal Reserve system, partnering with some Republicans in opposition to some policies. Frank says that he and Republican Congressman Ron Paul "first bonded because we were both conspicuous nonworshipers at the Temple of the Fed and of the High Priest Alan Greenspan.”

In 2008 Frank supported passage of the American Housing Rescue & Foreclosure Prevention Act intended to protect thousands of homeowners from foreclosure. This law, H.R. 3221, was one of the most important and complex issues on which he worked. Frank was also instrumental is the passage of H.R. 5244, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008, a measure that drew praise from editorial boards and consumer advocates.

In July 2008, Frank stated Fannie and Freddy were fundamentally sound and not in danger of going under, cautioning however, that they were "not the best investments these days"

The Subprime mortgage crisis began with the bursting of the United States housing bubble and high default rates on "subprime" and adjustable rate mortgages (ARM), beginning in approximately 2005–2006. For a number of years prior to that, declining lending standards, an increase in loan incentives such as easy initial terms, and a long-term trend of rising housing prices had encouraged borrowers to assume difficult mortgages in the belief they would be able to quickly refinance at more favorable terms. However, once interest rates began to rise and housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006–2007 in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult. Defaults and foreclosure activity increased dramatically as easy initial terms expired, home prices failed to go up as anticipated, and ARM interest rates reset higher. Foreclosures accelerated in the United States in late 2006 and triggered a global financial crisis through 2007 and 2008. During 2007, nearly 1.3 million U.S. housing properties were subject to foreclosure activity, up 79% from 2006.

In October 2008, Frank called Republican criticism of the Community Reinvestment Act in light of the nation's housing crisis a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated.

Frank has been criticized for campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—$42,350 between 1989 and 2008–which some claim have influenced his support of their lending programs. Frank's former partner, Herb Moses, was an executive at Fannie from 1991 to 1998, where Moses helped develop many of Fannie’s affordable housing and home improvement lending programs. Frank and Moses' relationship ended around the same time Moses left the company; Frank's support of Fannie and Freddie predated and continued past that relationship.

References

  1. Project Vote Smart: Barney Frank
  2. Happy Anniversary, Barney Frank!
  3. To Be Frank
  5. Media Matters for America article, October 5, 2006, which cites the 'Boston Globe, 7/27/1990, as well as the Ethics Committee's report, 7/20/1990.
  6. Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Page 37 -"In numerous instances where an assertion made by Mr. Gobie (either publicly or during his Committee deposition) was investigated for accuracy, the assertion was contradicted by third-party sworn testimony or other evidence of Mr. Gobie himself."
  7. Richard L. Berke, New York Times, "Formal Reprimand of Rep. Frank Is Urged by House's Ethics Panel", July 20, 1990. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
  8. "What to do about Barney Frank // Congress faces nasty confrontation on handling sexual misconduct", Rowland Evans, Robert Novak. Austin American Statesman. Austin, Tex.: Oct 17, 1989. pg. A.8 "Word spread through the GOP cloakroom that Rep. Larry Craig of Idaho was standing firm inside the Ethics Committee."
  9. "Frank reprimanded for aiding prostitute" Elaine S. Povich, Chicago Tribune Chicago, Ill.: Jul 27, 1990. pg. 4 "The ethics committee, officially known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, had unanimously recommended that Frank be reprimanded and Frank did not contest the charge. But the committee was severely split, took months to make up its mind on the punishment, and during the vote Thursday three GOP members of the panel — Reps. Thomas Petri of Wisconsin, Larry Craig of Idaho and Jim Hansen of Utah — voted for censure, the more severe sanction."
  11. "Representative Frank Discloses He Is Homosexual", The New York Times, May 31, 1987, retrieved 2008-10-19 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. Rich, Frank (February 2, 1995), "Journal; Closet Clout", The New York Times{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  13. "Frank Part of Starr Review". PlanetOut Inc. 1998-09-09. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  14. "Best and Worst of Congress", 01 September 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
  15. LA Weekly
  16. ""Episode Guide - episode 86"". HBO. October 20, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  17. house.gov
  18. drugscience.org
  19. NJ.com, "Barney Frank: Let's decriminalize marijuana"
  20. Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777
  21. Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411
  22. Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 2046
  23. Viser, Matt (July 13, 2008), "Unlikely ace for online gambling", The Boston Globe{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  24. Anna Margolis, Anna (May 11, 2006). "Rep. Frank Votes Against "Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act"". HubPolitics.com. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  25. Bill Sammon (Friday, October 3, 2008). "FOXNews.com - Lawmaker Accused of Fannie Mae Conflict of Interest - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum". Foxnews.com. Retrieved 2008-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. Stephen Labaton (Published: September 11, 2003). "New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae - New York Times". Query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. Stephen Labaton (Published: September 11, 2003). "New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae - New York Times". Query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ John Gallagher, "Politics: A Broader Bully Pulpit: As Congress grapples with solutions for a faltering economy, Barney Frank sits at the center of power," The Advocate, September 9, 2008, p. 24.
  29. ^ Caldwell, Christopher (2007-07-22). "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. Information about the American Housing Rescue & Foreclosure Prevention Act from the House Financial Services Committee official website
  31. Plastic Card Tricks, New York Times editorial, March 29, 2008
  32. The Fed Aims at Credit Cards New York Times editorial, May 3, 2008
  33. Press release on the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights from the House Financial Services Committee official website. Accessed August 22, 2008.
  34. Heslam, Jessica (2008-10-04). "Barney Frank, Bill O'Reilly turn nasty in on-air battle". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  35. "Episode 06292007". Bill Moyers Journal. 2007-06-29. PBS. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  36. Justin Lahart (2007-12-24). "Egg Cracks Differ In Housing, Finance Shells". WSJ.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-13. It's now conventional wisdom that a housing bubble has burst. In fact, there were two bubbles, a housing bubble and a financing bubble. Each fueled the other, but they didn't follow the same course. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. "U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY INCREASES 75 PERCENT IN 2007". realtytrac.com. RealtyTrac Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  38. Johnson, Glen (2008-10-06). "Frank says GOP housing attacks racially motivated". Associated Press.
  39. "Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection". Businessandmedia.org. Retrieved 2008-10-05.

External links

Articles

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byRobert Drinan Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
January 3, 1981 – present 		Incumbent
Political offices

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Massachusetts's current delegation to the United States Congress
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