Barney Frank: It Was Mistake To Say Tim Geithner Should Fly Commercial

WASHINGTON -- Quick-tongued Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is retracting a suggestion he made to cut the deficit by making Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner fly commercial.

That's because Geithner already does, for the most part, although Frank had suggested in a letter that the country could save "millions" if the secretary would stop taking $150,000 military flights.

"I have now gotten more information than I had before about the Treasury Secretary’s travel," Frank said in a statement. "I made the mistake of acting on inadequate information."

Frank's plane travel suggestion had come in a part of his letter recommending spending cut options to the super committee, which must come up with $1.2 trillion is savings before Thanksgiving. Most of his other suggestions involved raising revenue.

Frank, who can be quick to point out flaws, was equally quick to be contrite when informed of the Treasury Department's response.

"Based on the information I have now gotten -– and that I should have looked into before -– I now believe that the Secretary’s travel patterns are appropriate and do not need any mandated change from us,” he said.

Comments

[CrawfishFestival]

03:07 PM on 11/28/2011

compare that comment - to Frank's comments about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac = EPIC LIES.

[Robert Grif]

12:54 AM on 10/20/2011

Give them both tricycles.

[demsrsilly]

06:11 AM on 10/15/2011

Now if he will only apologize for covering for what he called the great leadership of the corrupt franklin raines.

[CrawfishFestival]

03:09 PM on 11/28/2011

check this out - "demsrsilly" - and everybody:

Democrats applauding Franklin Raines - when he cooked the books to give everyone BONUSES.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

[jbon911647]

08:43 PM on 10/14/2011

Massachusetts voters should have a recall election for Mr. Franks on April 19th 2012.

[rebel0498]

07:08 PM on 10/14/2011

Why does a state that has 2 of the world's leading learning institutions send their village idiot to Washington? Where was your outrage Barney, when your buddy Pelosi took her cronies on a junket to Tuscany at tax payer expense?

[spmazanek]

06:49 PM on 10/14/2011

When I read the headline, I thought that Barney Frank was finally going to admit to his part in the collapse of the mortgage and housing industries. The admission would include his involvement in structuring Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and the ensuing cover-up that delayed Congress from taking action to prevent the financial disaster we live with today.
All he did was retract a stupid wisecrack he made about Obama's Treasury Secretary. Big Deal.
It is interesting that he attacks Geithner's travel habits to make it appear he is some kind of fiscally responsible Congressman. The liberals are starting to eat each other. Every man for hiumself!

[janmanuel2]

10:06 PM on 10/14/2011

Ha ha! I thought the same thing. How ridiculous of me to think this person would ever admit to any wrong-doing.

[CrawfishFestival]

03:31 PM on 11/28/2011

@ spmazanek - and - janmanuel2:

Democrats in their own words = www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

[Beevdge]

05:14 PM on 10/14/2011

Barney Frank is the poster boy for term limits. I am a conservative but I would be happy if we replaced EVERY legislator that has been in office more than ten years. We need a rotating citizen-congress...not career politicians.

[dustoff74]

01:30 AM on 10/16/2011

We tried it in California. Sad to say that it hasn't worked even a little bit. Now the professional politicians are in a constant search for their next job, as well as campaign funds,

[wonderinbear]

04:49 PM on 10/14/2011

Quick wheres the red slippers, Toto? Oh for a minute the spin caused me to forget where I was, He missed the freddie and fannie financial train wreck but found that there is waste in travel plans but now he is sorry for complaining about it. This is one of those times that I feel like I'm on the Titanic and the Captain just announced don't worry we're fixing the ice maker.

[hace7]

04:46 PM on 10/14/2011

Translation - Contunue taking the expensive flights. The article says he still does take expensive flights(hidden) ,,,"aleady does, for the most part",,,

Why should he fly commercial? He did not pay taxes, he gave money to his buddies at the banks, without demanding they help main street.

Frank was right to send him the letter, his fellow politicians must have smacked him. Imagine Government officials having to do what the rest of us do.

[knezrad]

04:43 PM on 10/14/2011

If the military, or another gov't official appointed or elected, has a plane going in that direction why not let any gov't official hop onto it if it does not discommode the task? Surely the gov't. is also paying for the coach tickets?
Finally I do not want someone who is repsonsible for the country's economy to be forced into a seat where he may get to his destination unrested and not in top form. What if through fatigue someone slips a line into a treaty past tired eyes? Is saving $600.00 or $4k worth something that might cost us millions or bilions? Nope.

A better solution is to charge equal to the cheapest coach airfare for journalists on AF1,2,3 etc.
It would still cut them a break, but pay for some of the jet fuel.

[pamarmarie]

04:38 PM on 10/14/2011

It is a safe apology-- He has never apologized for his part in the housing collapse--.Mortgage lenders and the such.

[4bBob]

05:32 PM on 10/14/2011

You've got that one straight! He's one of the main people responsible for the housing crash and he knows it, but not word of apology for that!!!!

[Whythehate]

04:29 PM on 10/14/2011

Thank you Barney for being a politician with the gumption to admit that he's made a mistake. Many of the folks in DC could learn a lesson here.

[marty173rd]

04:05 PM on 10/14/2011

Barney Framk should be in jail

[maybealittlecommonsense]

04:00 PM on 10/14/2011

2003 - ''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

[vg8mann]

03:47 PM on 10/14/2011

I got two words for you Barney, and the second one is you!