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.